A paving company has 24 employees, 15 with gross earnings of $355 per week and nine with gross earnings of $385 per week. What is the total social security and Medicare tax (in $) the company must send to the Internal Revenue Service for the first quarter of the year?
$ 
8,754.85
 
Incorrect: Your answer is incorrect.

To calculate the total Social Security and Medicare taxes the company must send to the IRS, we need to break the problem down step by step.

1. **Total gross earnings for each group of employees:**
   - Group 1: 15 employees earning $355 per week.
   - Group 2: 9 employees earning $385 per week.

2. **Social Security tax rate:** 6.2% (for earnings up to the wage base limit, which we assume none of the employees exceed).
   
3. **Medicare tax rate:** 1.45% (no wage base limit).

### Step 1: Total earnings for each group per week
- For the 15 employees earning $355/week:
  \[
  \text{Total weekly earnings} = 15 \times 355 = 5,325
  \]

- For the 9 employees earning $385/week:
  \[
  \text{Total weekly earnings} = 9 \times 385 = 3,465
  \]

### Step 2: Total earnings for all employees per week
\[
\text{Total weekly earnings} = 5,325 + 3,465 = 8,790
\]

### Step 3: Total earnings for the first quarter (13 weeks)
\[
\text{Total earnings for 13 weeks} = 8,790 \times 13 = 114,270
\]

### Step 4: Social Security tax calculation (6.2%)
\[
\text{Social Security tax} = 114,270 \times 0.062 = 7,088.74
\]

### Step 5: Medicare tax calculation (1.45%)
\[
\text{Medicare tax} = 114,270 \times 0.0145 = 1,656.92
\]

### Step 6: Total tax owed
\[
\text{Total tax} = 7,088.74 + 1,656.92 = 8,745.66
\]

So, the correct total amount the company must send to the IRS for the first quarter of the year is **$8,745.66**.

Would you like further details on any of the steps? Here are five related questions you might explore:

1. What is the current wage base limit for Social Security taxes?
2. How would the tax calculation change if one of the employees got a raise?
3. What happens if an employee exceeds the Social Security wage base limit?
4. How do the Social Security and Medicare tax rates vary for higher incomes?
5. How is the Social Security wage base limit determined?

**Tip:** Always check if any of the employees' earnings exceed the Social Security wage base limit when calculating taxes!

A paving company has 24 employees, 15 with gross earnings of $355 per week and nine with gross earnings of $385 per week. What is the total social security and Medicare tax (in $) the company must send to the Internal Revenue Service for the first quarter of the year?

Find out how to calculate the total Social Security and Medicare tax for a company with 24 employees, using real-world percentage and arithmetic calculations. Learn the step-by-step process to determine the tax owed for the first quarter of the year, based on weekly earnings. Suitable for Grades 10-12.

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