Hey , Susan . Have you got a sec ? I have some questions about my paycheck .   You bet , Emily . Pull up a chair .   Well , this is my first paycheck here in the States and there are a few things I don't understand . First of all , what is this FICA , and SUI Y tax , and why are there deductions both for Medicare and for my health insurance plan ?   OK , let's start from the top of your pay stub . This number here represents your gross pay .   Then here we have a series of deductions . First off are the federal ones . FICA stands for Federal Insurance Contribution Act , or something like that . It's your federal income tax . And then there's Social Security and Medicare , which are both federal programs to help you out after you retire or if you were unable to work .   All right , I see . So the Medicare isn't actually a health insurance I can use now .   That's right . Below the federal deductions are the state deductions . There's the state income tax , and then this SUI / SDI tax you were asking about is paying into an unemployment and disability fund that our state has set up , but you can see it's a pretty small quantity that they take .   Yeah , I don't mind giving them a dollar fifty for that . So there are two separate income taxes — one at a state level and one at a federal level ?   That's right . Not all states have an income tax . Some use higher property taxes or sales taxes instead .   I see . All right , well I think everything else I can figure out on my own . The deductions for health insurance and my 401 ( K ) are pretty self-explanatory . Thanks for your help , Susan . 