How much must an employer send to the IRS if they withheld $765 for employee Medicare and Social Security taxes?

When an employer withholds taxes for Medicare and Social Security from an employee's paycheck, they are required to match those amounts. The amount withheld for Social Security and Medicare is generally a percentage of the employee’s income. For 2023, the Social Security tax rate is 6.2% and the Medicare tax rate is 1.45%, totaling 7.65% for an employee.

If the total amount withheld from the employee’s paycheck is $765, this amount represents the employee’s portion of Social Security and Medicare taxes. To find the total amount that the employer must send to the IRS, the employer will match the $765 withheld. This results in:

Employee withholding: $765

Employer match: $765

Total to send to the IRS: $765 + $765 = $1,530.

Therefore, $1,530 is the correct calculation of the total amount owed to the IRS for Medicare and Social Security taxes when taking into account both the employee's withheld amount and the employer's matching contribution.