Rhyme Awareness Rhyme awareness is the understanding that certain word endings sound alike, and therefore contain the same sounds, such as the short /a/ and /p/ sounds in cap and map or the long /i/ and /t/ combination in fight and kite.
Most high-income retirees will have 85% of Social Security benefits taxable. For lower-income retirees, less than 85% will be taxable, but many retirees in a 12% tax bracket will face a marginal tax rate much higher than 12%. Social security benefits are also taxable in some states (see Figure 1.) For social security taxes imposed on earned wages, see the Social Security article.
Social Security tax is one part of the Federal Insurance Contribution Act (FICA) tax, and it is assessed at a rate of 12.4%. This is split evenly between the employee and employer, and it applies to earned income up to $118,500 for 2016 -- resulting in a maximum Social Security tax of $14,694. The remainder of FICA tax goes to Medicare.