Under a last minute Capitol Hill agreement expected to avert the much-feared ‘fiscal cliff’ disaster that has dominated politics in recent weeks, working Americans across the board will see a little extra of their income collected in the form of a federal tax starting immediately. No matter what your annual salary may be, US workers will have to part with an additional 2 percent of their paycheck in order to cover the cost of Social Security.

While Congress did act in a matter that will keep income taxes from rising on middle-America, in doing so they allowed a temporary reduction in the Social Security payroll tax that was enacted under President George W. Bush to expire.