The 2027 Social Security wage base is $192,300

What is the Social Security wage base for 2027?

On October 14, 2026, the Social Security Administration announced that the most earnings subject to Social Security tax rises to $192,300 for 2027, up $7,800 from $184,500 in 2026. Payroll people call it the wage base. SSA calls it the contribution and benefit base, or the taxable maximum. The same announcement set a 3.6% cost of living adjustment (COLA) for Social Security benefits in 2027.

The tax rates do not change. Only the ceiling moves.

The arithmetic: $192,300 × 6.2% = $11,922.60, and $184,500 × 6.2% = $11,439.00. An employee paid $192,300 or more pays $483.60 more Social Security tax in 2027, and so does the employer. Anyone who earns less than $184,500 sees no change at all.

What the 2027 wage base means for employers

Publication 15 sets the rule. Withhold 6.2% Social Security tax from an employee's wages and pay a matching 6.2% yourself until that employee's wages for the year reach the base. Then both stop for the rest of the year. Medicare works differently: 1.45% from the employee and 1.45% from you on every dollar, all year, with no cap.

Three details catch employers every January:

• The count restarts at zero on January 1, 2027. A manager who passed $184,500 in October has had no Social Security tax withheld since. Their first 2027 paycheck has it again, so their take home pay drops. Tell them before it happens.
• Additional Medicare Tax is the employee's alone. Once you pay an employee more than $200,000 in a calendar year, withhold an extra 0.9% on the wages above it, starting with that pay period. There is no employer match, and you ignore the employee's filing status.
• Each employer counts separately. Someone with two jobs can have too much Social Security tax withheld in total. They claim the excess as a credit on their Form 1040. If one employer alone withheld too much, that employer should fix it.

Worked example: an S corporation owner paid $210,000

Say the owner of a hypothetical engineering firm, run as an S corporation, sets her 2027 salary at $210,000.

The $17,700 of salary above $192,300 owes Medicare tax but no Social Security tax. Because the company is hers, she carries both columns: $30,025.20 in all. The same salary in 2026 cost $11,439.00 per side in Social Security tax, so 2027 costs her $967.20 more.

The $90 is withholding, not the final tax. Her Form 1040 settles it by filing status. Married filing jointly, the threshold is $250,000 of combined wages and self-employment income. If her spouse has no earnings, she owes no Additional Medicare Tax and claims the $90 as a credit on her return.

What the wage base means if you are self-employed

A sole proprietor or the owner of a single member LLC pays self-employment tax instead: 12.4% for Social Security and 2.9% for Medicare, figured on Schedule SE. Two rules shape the number:

• Schedule SE first multiplies your net profit by 92.35%. The result is your net earnings from self-employment.
• The 12.4% applies only up to the wage base. The 2.9% applies to all of it.

Say a single consultant has $250,000 of net profit in 2027 and no wages:

1. Net earnings: $250,000 × 92.35% = $230,875.
2. Social Security part: $192,300 × 12.4% = $23,845.20 (the base caps it).
3. Medicare part: $230,875 × 2.9% = $6,695.38.
4. Self-employment tax: $23,845.20 + $6,695.38 = $30,540.58.
5. Additional Medicare Tax on Form 8959: $230,875 minus $200,000 is $30,875, and $30,875 × 0.9% = $277.88.

Half of the self-employment tax, $15,270.29, is deductible on the income tax side. In 2026 the Social Security part on the same profit stopped at $22,878.00, so the 2027 bill is $967.20 higher. Build it into your 2027 estimated tax payments.

If you also have W-2 wages, they use up the base first. Schedule SE subtracts them before it figures the 12.4%.

What the IRS has not published for 2027 yet

As of October 18, 2026, the IRS news releases include no 2027 inflation adjustments. The 2026 version (Rev. Proc. 2025-32) came out on October 9, 2025, so this year's is already later. Here is where the numbers small businesses plan around stand:

Projections of the 2027 brackets are circulating. They are not IRS numbers. Plan with 2026 figures until the revenue procedure is out.

The mistakes that cost money in January

• Payroll still capped at $184,500. If your payroll system has not loaded the 2027 base, it stops Social Security tax $7,800 early for every high earner. That under withholds up to $483.60 per person, the company still owes both shares, and fixing it later means corrected payroll filings. Check the first 2027 pay run that takes someone past $184,500.
• Capping Medicare with Social Security. A spreadsheet that stops "FICA" at the wage base understates Medicare tax on every dollar above it. Only the 6.2% stops.
• Self-employed owners skipping the 92.35% step, or applying 12.4% to the whole profit. On $250,000 of profit, 12.4% of everything gives $31,000.00, which overstates the Social Security part by $7,154.80.

What to do before your first 2027 payroll

1. Confirm your payroll system shows $192,300 for 2027 wages.
2. List the employees likely to pass $192,300, and those likely to pass $200,000. Budget up to $11,922.60 of employer Social Security tax for each.
3. Tell those employees their January paychecks will be smaller.
4. If you own an S corporation, set your 2027 salary and run the arithmetic above.
5. If you are self-employed, redo your 2027 estimates with the new base.
6. Reconcile your payroll tax liability accounts through December 31 so the year closes clean. In BooksGPT, the general ledger report lists every entry behind each payroll tax balance. The year-end checklist covers the rest.