HAGERSTOWN, MD - While a fiscal cliff deal was reached, a tax now hitting most households is the social security payroll tax increase. It has gone up from 4.2 percent to 6.2 percent. 

"I was like wow, why didn't they let us know sooner, so we could let our employees know," says Mary Llewellyn, of Hagerstown.

 Many residents who work and operate a business were caught off guard when they got paid for the first time in the new year.

"My paycheck was a little bit lighter," says Ray Harner, of Hagerstown. 

"The two percent tax holiday, the social security holding, was in effect the last two years. Part of the fiscal cliff is they removed that," says Cort Meinelschmidy, a financial adviser. 

This means someone earning about $30,000 a year will now take home about $500 less a year, or about $20 less per pay check. 

"I knew the increase was coming, yes, how I feel about it, I wish that when I need the social security and I am eligible to withdraw it, it's there," says Ray Harner. "With the way things are going now, I'm not sure it'll be there."   

Chief Investor Meinelschmidt says the two percent increase is necessary to help with the under funding of America's social security. While he says he wishes the government was able to budget more efficiently, so this wouldn't be an issue, he advises people to do just that.

"Live within your means, I wish our government did the same thing, if you can afford to go out, to do those things, that's great, but if you can't, you've got to back out on those things," says Meinelschmidt. 

The two percent social security payroll holiday tax was initiated by President Obama in 2011 and extended into 2012. It was never meant to be permanent.

The tax only applies to the first $113,700 a person earns and became effective January 1st.