The President signed the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act Of 2010 on Friday. The IRS released guidance regarding implementing the payroll tax reduction for 2011.

The Act provides a two percentage point payroll tax cut for employees, reducing their Social Security tax withholding rate from 6.2 percent to 4.2 percent of wages paid. This reduced Social Security withholding will have no effect on the employee’s future Social Security benefits.