Social Security tax limit 2027: the wage base rises to $192,300
The Social Security tax limit for 2027 is $192,300 of wages, up from $184,500, the Social Security Administration announced on October 14, 2026. The 6.2% rate doesn't change, so the most a worker can pay rises to $11,922.60. On a $20-an-hour job none of this matters: Social Security and Medicare come out of every paycheck all year.
The Social Security tax will apply to the first $192,300 of wages paid in 2027, up $7,800 from $184,500 in 2026. The Social Security Administration published the new wage base on October 14, 2026, in its 2027 COLA fact sheet, the same day it announced a 3.6% cost-of-living adjustment for benefits. The rates stay where they are: 6.2% for Social Security and 1.45% for Medicare from the employee, matched by the employer, 7.65% each side.
Because the rate is fixed and only the cap moves, the maximum Social Security tax an employee can pay goes from $11,439.00 to $11,922.60 in 2027, an increase of $483.60. Self-employed people pay both halves, 12.4%, so their maximum rises to $23,845.20. Medicare has no cap at all, and the extra 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax still starts at $200,000 of wages for single filers and $250,000 for married couples filing jointly. Those two thresholds aren't indexed and didn't change.
| Payroll tax figure | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Social Security wage base | $184,500 | $192,300 |
| Maximum Social Security tax, employee (6.2%) | $11,439.00 | $11,922.60 |
| Medicare tax (1.45%) | No wage limit | No wage limit |
| Additional Medicare Tax (0.9%) starts at | $200,000 single / $250,000 joint | $200,000 single / $250,000 joint |
| Retirement earnings limit, under full retirement age | $24,480 | $25,560 |
When does Social Security tax stop?
It stops for the rest of the calendar year once one employer has paid you $192,300 in 2027. From the next dollar on, the 6.2% line on your pay stub drops to zero and your take-home pay goes up by that amount until January, when the count restarts. Medicare keeps coming out regardless.
On a full-time schedule of 2,080 hours, you only reach the cap if you're paid at least $92.45 an hour. In 2026 the line was $88.70. Below that rate, Social Security tax comes out of every check you get all year, overtime included.
Two jobs change the picture. Each employer withholds Social Security as if it were your only one, so someone earning $120,000 at one and $90,000 at another pays 6.2% on all $210,000 through payroll. The tax over the $11,922.60 maximum comes back as a credit when you file, as excess Social Security. Plan on the refund rather than counting on lower withholding during the year.
At $20 an hour, nothing changes
For almost everyone who reads this site, the wage base is a headline about other people. A $20-an-hour job pays $41,600 a year at full time, less than a quarter of the cap, so FICA is taken on every dollar from the first check of January to the last one in December, in 2027 exactly as in 2026.
The 7.65% is a flat cost of every hour you work, including overtime and holiday premiums. When you compare two job offers by the hour, it doesn't change the ranking. When you estimate what a raise or an extra shift is worth, take it off first, then income tax.
Working while collecting: the 2027 earnings limit
The same fact sheet sets the retirement earnings test, which matters far more to older hourly workers than the tax cap. If you claim Social Security before your full retirement age and keep working, the limit for 2027 is $25,560 a year ($2,130 a month), up from $24,480. Above it, Social Security withholds $1 of benefits for every $2 you earn. In the year you reach full retirement age the limit is $67,920 ($5,660 a month), with $1 withheld for every $3, and it counts only the months before you reach that age. From that month on there's no limit.
At $15 an hour, $25,560 is about 1,704 hours, roughly 33 hours a week. Our guide to the Social Security earnings limit converts the limit into weekly hours at different wages and explains why the withheld checks aren't lost.
The rest of the 2027 numbers
Benefits rise 3.6% starting with January 2027 payments; SSI recipients get the increase from December 31, 2026. SSA estimates the average retired worker's benefit goes from $2,095 to $2,170 a month. One Social Security credit, the "quarter of coverage" you earn by working, will take $1,970 of earnings in 2027, up from $1,890. At $15 an hour, that's about 131 hours of work per credit.
Medicare's 2027 premiums weren't part of the announcement. SSA says they'll be posted at medicare.gov and shown in beneficiaries' COLA notices, which go out in late November online and by mail in December.
Questions
What is the maximum Social Security tax for 2027?
$11,922.60 for an employee, which is 6.2% of the $192,300 wage base, up from $11,439.00 in 2026. The employer pays a matching $11,922.60. A self-employed person pays the full 12.4% on net earnings up to the same base, a maximum of $23,845.20. Medicare tax is separate and has no maximum.
Do 401(k) contributions count toward the Social Security wage base?
Yes. Traditional 401(k) contributions lower your income tax but not your Social Security or Medicare tax, so they still count toward the $192,300. That's why box 3 of your W-2 (Social Security wages) is often higher than box 1. Pre-tax health premiums under a cafeteria plan are different and generally come out of both.