What is the Social Security wage base for 2027?

$192,300, up from $184,500 in 2026, according to the Social Security Administration's Oct. 14 announcement as reported by the Journal of Accountancy. Wages above that amount aren't subject to the 6.2% Social Security tax.

What is the most an employer pays in Social Security tax per employee in 2027?

$11,922.60, which is 6.2% of $192,300; the employee pays the same amount. The 2026 maximum is $11,439 for each side.

Does the Medicare tax have a wage limit in 2027?

No. The 1.45% Medicare tax, paid by both employer and employee, still applies to all covered wages. Employers also withhold the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax once an employee's wages pass $200,000 in a calendar year, and there's no employer share of that tax.

How much can I earn in 2027 while collecting Social Security before full retirement age?

$25,560 for people under full retirement age all year, with $1 in benefits withheld for every $2 above that. In the year you reach full retirement age, the limit is $67,920, with $1 withheld for every $3 above it, counting only months before that birthday.

When does the 3.6% Social Security COLA take effect?

With benefits payable in January 2027. Increased Supplemental Security Income payments begin Dec. 31, 2026.

The 2027 Social Security Wage Base Is $192,300. Here's What It Costs Employers, and What the 3.6% COLA Means for Working Retirees

$192,300. That’s the most pay any one employee can be taxed on for Social Security in 2027, up from $184,500 this year ^{[1, 2]}. The Social Security Administration announced the number on Oct. 14, along with a 3.6% cost-of-living adjustment for benefits ^[1]. If you run payroll for anyone who earns six figures, or employ someone who collects Social Security while working, both numbers reach you.

What changed

Social Security tax is 6.2% from the employee and 6.2% from the employer, 12.4% in total, but only up to a yearly ceiling called the wage base ^[2]. Pay above the ceiling isn’t taxed for Social Security. Medicare is different: 1.45% each, 2.9% in total, with no ceiling at all ^[2].

For 2027, the ceiling rises $7,800, to $192,300 ^[1]. At that wage base, the employee and the employer each pay $11,922.60, compared with $11,439 each in 2026 ^[1].

The rates themselves aren’t changing. The Journal of Accountancy’s report on the announcement says the 1.45% Medicare rate “remains unchanged and has no wage limit” ^[1]. The 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax still kicks in for individuals with earned income above $200,000, or $250,000 for married couples filing jointly and $125,000 for married people filing separately ^[1]. On the payroll side, the IRS tells employers to start withholding that extra 0.9% in the pay period when an employee’s wages pass $200,000 for the year. There’s no employer share ^[2].

If you work for yourself, you pay self-employment tax equal to the combined employee and employer rates ^[1]. Add 12.4% and 2.9% and you get 15.3% in total ^{[1, 2]}.

Why the benefit side matters to a payroll

The 3.6% COLA applies to benefits payable in January 2027 ^[1]. The Journal of Accountancy puts the number of people affected at about 72 million Social Security beneficiaries, plus about 7.3 million people receiving Supplemental Security Income, whose higher payments start Dec. 31, 2026 ^[1].

That increase lands the same week as fresh inflation numbers. On Oct. 14, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, or CPI-W, rose 3.9% over the 12 months ending in September ^[3]. The broader all-items index for urban consumers rose 3.7%, and prices excluding food and energy rose 2.6% ^[3].

The part that matters most to a small employer is the retirement earnings test, the rule that holds back some benefits from people who claim Social Security early and keep working. For 2027:

Under full retirement age all year: you can earn up to $25,560, up from $24,480. Above that, $1 of benefits is withheld for every $2 you earn ^[1].
Reaching full retirement age during 2027: the limit is $67,920, up from $65,160. Above it, $1 is withheld for every $3 you earn, and only earnings in the months before full retirement age count ^[1].

Remember the W-2 changes I wrote about in September? This one is simpler. The new 2026 W-2 boxes for overtime and tips took new fields and new codes. The wage base is one number your payroll system needs to change on Jan. 1.

Does this apply to you?

Only if someone on your payroll earns more than this year’s $184,500. Below that, the higher ceiling changes nothing, because every dollar was already taxed for Social Security ^{[1, 2]}. Here’s how it plays out.

Say you run a hypothetical six-person engineering consulting firm, and your senior engineer earns $200,000 in both 2026 and 2027. In 2026, Social Security tax stops at $184,500, so you pay $11,439 and so does she ^[1]. In 2027, it stops at $192,300, so you each pay $11,922.60 ^[1]. By this column’s math, that’s $483.60 more from the firm, and the same from her paycheck. Her Medicare tax doesn’t change, because Medicare never had a ceiling ^[2]. At exactly $200,000, her wages never pass the withholding threshold, so no Additional Medicare Tax is withheld ^[2].

Now say a hypothetical veterinary clinic pays its associate veterinarian $190,000. In 2026, only the first $184,500 is taxed for Social Security. In 2027, all $190,000 is, because it’s under the new $192,300 ceiling ^{[1, 2]}. By this column’s math, the clinic’s Social Security tax for her goes from $11,439 to $11,780, an increase of $341.

One more. A hypothetical garden center hires a 63-year-old part-time cashier who already collects Social Security. If she stays under full retirement age all of 2027 and earns $22,000, she’s under the $25,560 limit and nothing is withheld from her benefits ^[1]. The limit affects her benefits, not the garden center’s tax bill ^[1]. Still, it’s worth knowing when you schedule extra hours.

Who it doesn’t touch

Employees who earn less than $184,500. Their Social Security tax was always on every dollar ^{[1, 2]}.
The Medicare tax and its 0.9% surtax threshold. Both stay where they are ^{[1, 2]}.
Household and election worker thresholds. For 2026, the IRS says Social Security and Medicare taxes apply to household workers paid $3,000 or more in cash wages, and to election workers paid $2,500 or more ^[2]. The 2027 versions aren’t in the IRS’s employer guide yet, so don’t assume they’ve moved.

What to do before January

Whether you run payroll yourself or pay a service, it’s worth a two-minute check, because the IRS guide is clear that when the ceiling applies, it’s the maximum wage subject to the tax “for the year” ^[2]. A system that’s still set to $184,500 in January would stop withholding too soon for your top earners.

If you buy a business and keep its staff, there’s one more wrinkle. The IRS’s own example: an employee paid $2,000 by the old owner was taxed by the buyer on only the first $182,500 of 2026 wages, because the successor employer counts the predecessor’s wages toward the ceiling when certain requirements are met ^[2].

For the self-employed, the planning move is about estimated taxes. If your 2027 net earnings run above this year’s ceiling, more of them will face the 12.4% Social Security portion ^{[1, 2]}.

What I’m keeping an eye on

The IRS’s 2027 employer guide (Publication 15). It should restate the new wage base for payroll purposes and give the 2027 household and election worker thresholds. The 2026 edition is dated Dec. 15, 2025 ^[2].

The 2027 Schedule SE instructions, which should show the maximum self-employment income subject to Social Security tax for 2027.

— Sally