Social Security Wage Base 2026
| Year | Wage base (taxable maximum) |
|---|---|
| 2026 | $184,500 |
| 2025 | $176,100 |
| 2024 | $168,600 |
| 2023 | $160,200 |
| 2022 | $147,000 |
| 2021 | $142,800 |
| 2020 | $137,700 |
| 2019 | $132,900 |
| 2018 | $128,400 |
| 2017 | $127,200 |
| 2016 | $118,500 |
| 2015 | $118,500 |
| 2014 | $117,000 |
| 2013 | $113,700 |
| 2012 | $110,100 |
Source: SSA — Contribution and Benefit Base (history table).
The Social Security wage base is the yearly limit on wages that can be taxed for Social Security. For 2026 it is $184,500. Earnings up to that amount carry the 6.2% Social Security tax. Earnings above it do not.
What the wage base is
Social Security is funded by a tax on wages, but only up to a ceiling. That ceiling is the wage base, also called the contribution and benefit base. It serves two purposes at once. It caps the tax you pay into Social Security, and it caps the earnings that count toward your future benefit. Pay above the base is neither taxed for Social Security nor credited toward your benefit.
Medicare works differently. It has no wage base, so its 1.45% applies to every dollar of wages regardless of how much you make.
How the base changes each year
The wage base is not fixed. It is tied to the national average wage index and generally rises each year as average wages rise. When wages across the country grow, the base grows with them, usually by a modest step. Some years it holds flat if the index does not increase. The table on this page shows the recent history so you can see the trend.
What happens when you cross it mid-year
If your pay is high enough to pass the wage base during the year, you will see it on your stub. Up to the base, 6.2% comes out of each paycheck for Social Security. In the pay period where your year-to-date wages cross the base, the Social Security tax stops, and it stays at zero for the rest of the year. Your take-home pay rises for those later checks because that line disappears.
Two things do not change when you cross the base. Medicare keeps coming out at 1.45% on all your wages, and federal income tax withholding continues as normal. Only the Social Security piece switches off.
If you change jobs mid-year, each employer tracks the base separately and may each withhold Social Security up to the full base. That can lead to too much being withheld across both jobs, which you reconcile as a credit when you file. For how the cap fits with the rest of FICA, see the FICA rate page, or model a full year in the take-home pay calculator.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Social Security wage base for 2026?
It is $184,500. Wages up to that amount are taxed 6.2% for Social Security, and wages above it are not.
Does the wage base apply to Medicare too?
No. Medicare has no wage base. Its 1.45% applies to all wages, and high earners pay an additional 0.9% above the withholding threshold.
Why did my Social Security tax stop late in the year?
You crossed the wage base. Once your year-to-date wages pass the cap, Social Security tax stops for the rest of the year, which raises your take-home pay on later checks.
What if I had two jobs and both withheld the full amount?
Each employer applies the wage base on its own, so you may have paid too much Social Security across both. You claim the excess back as a credit on your tax return.
Federal: IRS 2026 brackets (Rev. Proc. 2025-32) · FICA: IRS Topic 751 · Wage base: SSA. Rates current as of July 16, 2026. Annual-liability estimates, not payroll withholding — see methodology.