Rates and Limits

• For 2011, employees paid 4.2 percent of their earnings in Social Security tax, and employers paid 6.2 percent. The total rate remained the same from 1990 through 2010, although the amounts earmarked for retirement and disability have fluctuated. You are not subject to additional Social Security withholdings once your earnings exceed the established limit, which was $106,800 for 2011. This means that the maximum your employer should have withheld during 2011 was $6,621.60.
  
  

Excess Withholding – One Employer

• If all of your income is from one employer, and he fails to stop withholding once you reach the earnings limit, notify him immediately. He must refund any excess Social Security tax he withheld. Should your employer sell his business, your new employer may apply the amount your former employer paid you to determine when to stop withholding.
  
  

Excess Withholding – Two or More Employers

• Each employer must withhold Social Security taxes as if you worked only for him. If you reach the limit with one employer, he should stop withholding. The second employer must continue to withhold Social Security tax until your earnings from him reach the limit. Excess Social Security withholding may occur if you work two jobs simultaneously or if you change jobs during the year. The employer cannot issue a refund for Social Security taxes he withheld in complying with the law. Instead, you must request a refund when you file your income tax return.
  
  

Lack of Exceptions

• Whether you work two full-time jobs, one part-time job and one full-time job, one salaried job and one commission-job, or any other combination, the same rules apply. An employer cannot adjust your Social Security withholding based on a report from you or another employer. Nonresident aliens are typically subject to Social Security withholding, although "totalization agreements" with certain countries will eliminate the need for you to contribute to government-sponsored retirement plans in both countries.
  
  

Refund for Excess Taxes Withheld

• If you have excess Social Security tax withheld because of multiple employers, you can claim a refund on Form 1040, line 69. This entry is under the "payments" section, meaning it will act as a credit against your overall tax liability or increase the amount of your refund. If all of the excess tax was withheld by one employer, and he does not make an adjustment after you request him to do so, file an IRS Form 843 instead of entering the excess tax on line 69.