Social Security Wage Base Increases to $128,400 for 2018
Social Security Wage Base Increases to $128,400 for 2018
The Social Security Administration announced that the 2018 maximum wage base for the Social Security portion of FICA and the Self-Employment Tax will increase from $127,200 in 2017 to $128,400 in 2018. The increase of $1,200 over last year’s amount comes after an $8,700 increase from 2016 to 2017.
The Social Security Administration’s intermediate forecast predicts that the maximum wage base through 2026 will be as follows:
- 2019 – $135,600
- 2020 – $142,200
- 2021 – $148,500
- 2022 – $155,100
- 2023 – $161,700
- 2024 – $168,000
- 2025 – $174,300
- 2026 – $180,900
Actual annual increases to the wage base are announced in October of the preceding year and are based on then-current economic conditions. As a result, these forecasts, especially the longer-range ones, are subject to change. This year, the intermediate forecast projected that the Social Security wage base would be $130,500 in 2018; the approved figure turned out to be $128,400 as noted above.
Sources: Social Security Administration: Updated 2018 Taxable Maximum Amount Announced, Parker’s Federal Tax Bulletin (October 16, 2017), 2017 Annual Report of the Board of Trustees of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Federal Disability Insurance Trust Funds.