Hunton Employment & Labor Perspectives

When employers pay severance, it is common to withhold both income tax and payroll taxes under the Federal Income Contribution Act (“FICA”).  It is equally common for employers to pay the employer’s share of the FICA tax attributable to the severance payment.  These are common practices because Revenue Rulings issued by the Internal Revenue service classify most severance payments as “wages,” thereby subjecting those payments to the FICA tax.