[January 5, 2012]

On December 23, 2011, President Obama signed into law the Temporary Payroll Tax Cut Continuation Act of 2011.  Included in the Act is a provision that temporarily reduces the Social Security withholding rate from 6.2% to 4.2% for the first two months of 2012.  This change is effective with paychecks (and direct deposit) issued on or after Jan. 1, 2012. 

Because the law was enacted so close to the end of the calendar year, the IRS has given employers until January 31, 2012 to implement this withholding change. 
For most University of California campuses, the new withholding rate will become effective with the first pay date after Jan. 3, 2012.  The reduced withholding will be implemented at these campuses effective with the following pay schedules:

Because the law was enacted so late in December, monthly paid employees were subject to the old 6.2 percent rate for the Jan. 3, 2012 paycheck. As a result, they will receive a 2 percent refund in their Feb. 1 paycheck along with the implementation of the new 4.2 percent rate, making the net Social Security withholding 2.2 percent for the Feb. 1 pay date.

Although this temporary payroll tax cut is currently scheduled to expire February 29, 2012, a House-Senate Conference committee is scheduled to convene soon to consider extending the payroll tax cut for the remainder of 2012. UC Payroll will await further instructions from the IRS once a decision has been reached.
If you have any questions about this change, please contact your local payroll office.

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