For pre-tax contributions, the employee does not pay federal income tax on the amount of current income he or she defers to a 401(k) account, but does still pay the total 7.65% payroll taxes (social security and medicare). For example, a worker who otherwise earns $50,000 in a particular year and defers $3,000 into a 401(k) account that year only reports $47,000 in income on that year's tax return. Currently this would represent a near-term $660 saving in taxes for a single worker, assuming the worker remained in the 22% marginal tax bracket and there were no other adjustments (like deductions). The employee ultimately pays taxes on the money as he or she withdraws the funds, generally during retirement. The character of any gains (including tax-favored capital gains) is transformed into "ordinary income" at the time the money is withdrawn.