Danette O'Neal, PhD

The Social Security tax withholding rate is expected to return to 6.2% after two years at 4.2%. So far neither party has expressed much interest in another extension. For someone earning the 2011 median income of $50,054 that translates into $1,001.08 a year or about $40 less in a biweekly paycheck. Economists expect the increase will trim about 0.6 percentage point from growth in the first quarter of 2013.

To see how much more you will pay next year, use this link (http://on.wsj.com/ULvSpV) to input your annual pretax salary and click “calculate.”