First Paycheck of the Year

Monday was the first paycheck of the year. Here’s the breakdown. She is paid twice a month, with the first check being a little more generous than the last for some bizarre LA County HR rules. Everything the county does is bizarre–but that is another post.

This paycheck had gross earnings of $3502. The obvious contributors to taxes are federal income tax withholding of $373, state income tax withholding of $115, and Medicare taxes of $60. My wife does not have to pay into social security, so this reduces her tax burden. You may not know that some counties, back in 1980 before social security was mandatory, opted out of the system entirely! I anticipate that was a very astute move, as I doubt I will get as good of a social security deal as the greatest generation! Read more about that at the National Center for Policy Analysis.

I’m a lucky guy to have a partner with a real career, stable job, and a very decent salary.