2024 Social Security Wage Base
For 2024, the Social Security Wage Base is $168,600 (Wage base limit) and 6.2% (Employee social security tax rate).
Effective 2024-01-01Source: Publication 15 (2024), (Circular E), Employer's Tax Guide (IRS)Verified 2026-08-29
Compared with 2023
| Item | 2023 | 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wage base limit | $160,200 | $168,600 | +$8,400 (+5.2%) |
| Employee social security tax rate | 6.2% | 6.2% | +0% (+0.0%) |
Who it applies to
Employers and employees subject to Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) taxes during the 2024 tax year.
What changed this year, and why
The Social Security wage base limit for 2024 is $168,600. This is the maximum amount of wages subject to the Social Security (OASDI) tax during the calendar year. Wages earned above this amount are not subject to Social Security tax. The employee's share of the social security tax is 6.2% of wages up to that limit, and the employer is charged the same rate on the same wages.
Common questions
- What is the Social Security wage base?
- The Social Security wage base limit is the maximum amount of wages subject to the Social Security tax for the year. For 2024, that limit is $168,600. Employers should stop withholding Social Security tax from an employee's wages once that employee's wages reach $168,600 during the calendar year.
- What is the Social Security tax rate for 2024?
- The social security tax rate is 6.2% each for the employer and the employee, and for 2024 it is charged on wages up to the wage base limit of $168,600. Wages above that limit in the same year carry no further social security tax. Medicare tax is charged separately and has no wage base limit, so it keeps applying above $168,600.
Every amount on this page is a published figure rather than yours. The Social Security wage base headroom takes the number you enter and works it out against them, showing which published figure it used.
Only social security has a wage base
When calculating payroll taxes, employers must understand that only social security has a wage base limit while Medicare tax applies to all wages. The wage base limit represents the maximum amount of wages subject to social security tax for the year. Once an employee's cumulative wages reach $168,600 in 2024, no additional social security tax is withheld or owed on wages above that threshold for the remainder of the calendar year. Medicare tax continues to apply to all wages regardless of amount, with no ceiling. This means employers must track each employee's year-to-date earnings carefully and stop withholding the employee portion of social security tax once the $168,600 limit is reached, while continuing to withhold Medicare tax on every dollar earned throughout the year.
only the social security tax has a wage base limit. The wage base limit is the maximum wage subject to the tax for the year.
Publication 15 (2024), (Circular E), Employer's Tax Guide (IRS)
An acquisition does not restart the limit
When a business is acquired and the transaction meets certain requirements, the successor employer can count wages that the predecessor business paid to transferred employees toward the social security wage base limit. This means employees don't restart at zero for social security tax purposes when they move to the new employer during the year. The wages the predecessor paid before the acquisition and the wages the successor pays after the acquisition are combined to determine whether the $168,600 wage base has been reached. This prevents employees from paying social security tax on more than $168,600 in wages during a single calendar year, even if they worked for multiple related entities. The successor employer should review the requirements in the regulations and revenue procedure guidance to determine if this treatment applies to their acquisition.
Successor employer. When corporate acquisitions meet certain requirements, wages paid by the predeces- sor are treated as if paid by the successor for purposes of applying the social security wage base and for applying the Additional Medicare Tax withholding threshold (that is, $200,000 in a calendar year).
Publication 15 (2024), (Circular E), Employer's Tax Guide (IRS)
When the employer pays the employee's share
When an employer pays the employee's share of social security and Medicare taxes without deducting them from the employee's pay, those payments count as additional wages to the employee. This means the employer's payment of the employee's tax portion increases the employee's total wages subject to social security and Medicare taxes. Because this creates additional tax liability, the employer must calculate and pay social security and Medicare taxes on the tax payments themselves, which in turn creates more additional wages and more taxes owed. This circular calculation continues until the total additional tax is fully accounted for. The employer should be aware that paying the employee's share of taxes effectively costs more than the amount of tax paid because of this cascading effect on the wage base.
Employee's portion of taxes paid by employer. If you pay your employee's social security and Medicare taxes without deducting them from the employee's pay, you must include the amount of the payments in the employ- ee's wages for social security and Medicare taxes. This in- crease in the employee's wage payment for your payment of the employee's social security and Medicare taxes is also subject to employee social security and Medicare taxes.
Publication 15 (2024), (Circular E), Employer's Tax Guide (IRS)
Household employers
Employers who hire individuals to perform domestic services in their private homes, local college clubs, or local fraternity or sorority chapters are subject to social security tax requirements when they pay cash wages of $2,700 or more to those household employees during 2024. Once this threshold is met, the wages paid to household employees are subject to social security tax just like wages paid to any other employee. This means the household employer must track the employee's wages throughout the year and apply the social security tax only up to the wage base limit of $168,600. Wages paid above that amount are not subject to social security tax, though they remain subject to Medicare tax. Household employees who are under age 18 may be exempt from social security tax if household work is not their principal occupation during any portion of the calendar year. The social security wage base applies to household employees in the same way it applies to all other employees - once the employee's cumulative wages reach the annual limit, no further social security tax is withheld or owed for the remainder of the year.
Taxable if paid $2,700 or more in cash in 2024.
Publication 15 (2024), (Circular E), Employer's Tax Guide (IRS)
Who counts as an employee
Under common-law rules, a worker who performs services for you is generally considered your employee if you have the right to control what will be done and how it will be done. This control test applies even when you give the worker freedom of action in performing the work. What matters is that you retain the legal right to direct the details of how the services are performed. The IRS emphasizes that the label you put on the relationship does not determine employee status. A worker may be called an agent or independent contractor, and it does not matter how payments are measured or what they are called. If the common-law test shows that an employer-employee relationship exists, the worker is an employee for tax purposes. Once the employer determines that someone is a common-law employee, the wages paid to that employee are subject to social security tax, subject to the annual wage base limit of $168,600 for 2024. The employer must withhold and pay social security taxes on those wages up to that limit, just as for all other employees.
Generally, a worker who performs services for you is your employee if you have the right to control what will be done and how it will be done. This is so even when you give the employee freedom of action. What matters is that you have the right to control the details of how the services are performed.
Publication 15 (2024), (Circular E), Employer's Tax Guide (IRS)
How each figure was verified
Each number below was read from a stored copy of the document named beside it, and checked to occur word for word in the quoted sentence. The digest is of that stored text.
Publication 15 (2024), (Circular E), Employer's Tax Guide (IRS)
- Wage base limit
Social security and Medicare tax for 2024. The rate of social security tax on taxable wages is 6.2% each for the employer and employee. The social security wage base limit is $168,600.
- Employee social security tax rate
For 2024, the social security tax rate is 6.2% (amount withheld) each for the employer and employee (12.4% to- tal).