Social Security taxable wage base
The Social Security contribution and benefit base under Social Security Act §230 by calendar year — the taxable wage base that covered compensation and the §415 wage-base references are computed from.
Current value: Taxable wage base: 184,500 as of 2026.
| Year | Taxable wage base$ |
|---|---|
| 1937 | 3,000 |
| 1938 | 3,000 |
| 1939 | 3,000 |
| 1940 | 3,000 |
| 1941 | 3,000 |
| 1942 | 3,000 |
| 1943 | 3,000 |
| 1944 | 3,000 |
| 1945 | 3,000 |
| 1946 | 3,000 |
| 1947 | 3,000 |
| 1948 | 3,000 |
| 1949 | 3,000 |
| 1950 | 3,000 |
| 1951 | 3,600 |
| 1952 | 3,600 |
| 1953 | 3,600 |
| 1954 | 3,600 |
| 1955 | 4,200 |
| 1956 | 4,200 |
| 1957 | 4,200 |
| 1958 | 4,200 |
| 1959 | 4,800 |
| 1960 | 4,800 |
| 1961 | 4,800 |
| 1962 | 4,800 |
| 1963 | 4,800 |
| 1964 | 4,800 |
| 1965 | 4,800 |
| 1966 | 6,600 |
| 1967 | 6,600 |
| 1968 | 7,800 |
| 1969 | 7,800 |
| 1970 | 7,800 |
| 1971 | 7,800 |
| 1972 | 9,000 |
| 1973 | 10,800 |
| 1974 | 13,200 |
| 1975 | 14,100 |
| 1976 | 15,300 |
| 1977 | 16,500 |
| 1978 | 17,700 |
| 1979 | 22,900 |
| 1980 | 25,900 |
| 1981 | 29,700 |
| 1982 | 32,400 |
| 1983 | 35,700 |
| 1984 | 37,800 |
| 1985 | 39,600 |
| 1986 | 42,000 |
| 1987 | 43,800 |
| 1988 | 45,000 |
| 1989 | 48,000 |
| 1990 | 51,300 |
| 1991 | 53,400 |
| 1992 | 55,500 |
| 1993 | 57,600 |
| 1994 | 60,600 |
| 1995 | 61,200 |
| 1996 | 62,700 |
| 1997 | 65,400 |
| 1998 | 68,400 |
| 1999 | 72,600 |
| 2000 | 76,200 |
| 2001 | 80,400 |
| 2002 | 84,900 |
| 2003 | 87,000 |
| 2004 | 87,900 |
| 2005 | 90,000 |
| 2006 | 94,200 |
| 2007 | 97,500 |
| 2008 | 102,000 |
| 2009 | 106,800 |
| 2010 | 106,800 |
| 2011 | 106,800 |
| 2012 | 110,100 |
| 2013 | 113,700 |
| 2014 | 117,000 |
| 2015 | 118,500 |
| 2016 | 118,500 |
| 2017 | 127,200 |
| 2018 | 128,400 |
| 2019 | 132,900 |
| 2020 | 137,700 |
| 2021 | 142,800 |
| 2022 | 147,000 |
| 2023 | 160,200 |
| 2024 | 168,600 |
| 2025 | 176,100 |
| 2026 | 184,500 |
Source and verification
- Source
- Social Security Administration — Contribution and benefit baseSSA Office of the Chief Actuary, contribution and benefit base; validated against IRS Rev. Rul. 2026-1
- Regulation
- Social Security Act §230; IRC §3121(a)(1)
- Verified
- June 21, 2026Against: IRS Rev. Rul. 2026-1, 2026-2 I.R.B. 299, Attachments I (unrounded) and II (rounded).How: coveredComp.test.js reproduces Attachment I for 87 of 87 birth years (1907-1993+) from the SSA wage-base series on every suite run. Covered compensation is a deterministic function of the bases, so an exact match over the whole table validates the base series itself.
- Publication rule
- Published annually; the value for a year is expected by December of the prior year. The latest year held here is 2026.
Cite this page: ActuarialOS, “Social Security taxable wage base”, https://actuarialos.io/reference/social-security-wage-base — verified 2026-06-21.
In Excel: =aos_EconAnnualLookup("wage base", 2026) The ActuarialOS Excel add-in is free and returns this series with one worksheet function. Download the add-in.
In ActuarialOS the wage base is single-sourced here for covered compensation and the statutory-limit lookups. About the platform.
Values on this page are transcribed from the cited source and checked against it by an automated instrument; the source governs. Confirm any figure against the notice before relying on it in signed work.