- Higher Wage Base—No surprise: The Social Security wage base has increased again to $117,000 in 2014 (up from $113,700 in 2013). At least the tax rate for employers and employees remains the same at 7.65% on amounts up to the base and 1.45% above that. Another payroll factor: A 0.9% Medicare surtax applies to single filers with wages above $200,000 and joint filers above $250,000.
- New Mileage Rates—The IRS recently announced standard mileage rates for 2014 tax deduction purposes. And this time there was a small surprise: The rates of 56 cents per mile for business driving and 23.5 cents per mile for medical-related driving were each a half cent per mile lower than in 2013. The rate for charitable travel is 14 cents per mile, the same as it was last year.