This year, the 15th of January isn't just halfway through the first month of the year. For many people who are paid twice a month, the 15th will be their first paycheck of the New Year - and the first check they've gotten since the end of the FICA tax holiday.
Remember the Fiscal Cliff? Part of the battle between President Obama and the Republican Congress included whether the employee's share of that temporary tax reduction would be allowed to lapse, and thus hike taxes on middle-class workers.
The Fiscal Cliff resolution wound up including the expiration of a 2 percent Social Security temporary tax reduction, the result of which is now reflected in everyone's paycheck.
Now, the employee's share of FICA tax is 6.2 percent, up from the 4.2 percent average, middle class folks were paying before the end of the tax reduction.
Have you been paid yet this year? Have you noticed less in your take-home pay? What do you think about it?
Tell us what your first thought was when you looked at your paycheck.
