# What is the Social Security wage base for 2026?

The Social Security wage base for 2026 is $184,500. Only earnings up to that amount are subject to Social Security tax: 6.2% each for employee and employer, or the 12.4% Social Security part of self-employment tax on net earnings. Medicare tax has no wage base limit. The 2025 limit was $176,100. ProfitDrawer's free self-employed tax calculator shows the self-employment tax part on its own line.

How it applies (IRS Tax Topic 751, Publication 15 (2026) and Publication 334):

- **Employees:** employers stop withholding the employee's 6.2% Social Security tax once 2026 wages and tips reach $184,500. Medicare tax (1.45% each) continues on all wages, and additional Medicare tax is withheld on wages over $200,000 in a year.
- **Self-employed:** wages and self-employment earnings share one cap. For 2025, only the first $176,100 of combined wages, tips and net earnings was subject to any combination of the 12.4% Social Security part of SE tax and Social Security tax on wages. If 2025 wages alone reached $176,100, no Social Security part of SE tax was due, but the 2.9% Medicare part still applied to all net earnings.
- **2026:** the maximum net self-employment earnings subject to the Social Security part is $184,500.

**Example (example numbers only):** in 2026 you earn $150,000 in wages and $60,000 of net self-employment earnings. Only $34,500 of the self-employment earnings falls under the $184,500 cap for the 12.4% part; Medicare applies to all of it.

The limit is set for each year, so check the IRS figure for 2027. General information, not tax advice.

- Source: [IRS Tax Topic 751, Social Security and Medicare withholding rates](https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc751)
- Updated: 2026-10-29
- Published: 2026-10-29
- Category: Small business taxes
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- Publisher: ProfitDrawer (https://profitdrawer.com)