IRS Releases 2002 Withholding Tables

The IRS has released the income tax withholding and advance earned income credit payment tables for 2002. These are the tables that will appear in Publication 15, Circular E, Employer's Tax Guide, which will be published in late December.

IRS Notice 1036, Early Release Copies of 2002 Income Tax Withholding and Advanced Earned Income Credit Payment Tables, is available for viewing or for download, and contains income tax withholding tables for both wage bracket and percentage method income tax tables for wages paid in 2002.

The Social Security wage base for 2002 is $84,900, and the Social Security rate is 6.2%. The Medicare rate is 1.45%.