what kind of taxes are fica?
FICA, which stands for Federal Insurance Contribution Act, is a tax that is paid by employees as well as their employers, and is often referred to as the payroll tax. The purpose of the FICA tax is to fund the Social Security and Medicare programs, which provide benefits to American retirees. What is FICA? FICA is the U.S. federal payroll tax, designed to help fund the Social Security and Medicare programs. As of 2017, about 171 million people work and contribute FICA taxes.