2028 Social Security Wage Base: $202,800 (Projected)
A clearly labelled wage-growth planning scenario, pending SSA’s determination.
Projected
Maximum Social Security taxable earnings
$202,800
A payroll-tax ceiling.
The worker’s 6.2% Social Security portion applies up to this wage base. At the ceiling, that is $12,573.60 in worker Social Security tax. Medicare payroll tax has its own rules and is not limited by this base.
| Year | Primary amount | Rule | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $168,600 | 6.2% worker rate | Official |
| 2025 | $176,100 | 6.2% worker rate | Official |
| 2026 | $184,500 | 6.2% worker rate | Official |
| 2027 | $193,500 | 6.2% worker rate | Projected |
| 2028 | $202,800 | 6.2% worker rate | Projected |
Questions, answered.
Is the 2028 amount announced?
No. It is a planning extrapolation of the last official values. SSA indexes wage-based amounts separately from the COLA.
Does investment income count toward the earnings test?
The retirement earnings test generally uses wages and net self-employment earnings, not pensions or investment income. Taxation of Social Security is a separate calculation.
Is the wage base my retirement benefit?
No. It is the earnings ceiling for the Social Security payroll-tax portion. PIA uses indexed earnings and bend points; claiming age then changes the payment.
Does the COLA set all these limits?
No. Wage-base, earnings-test and bend-point changes use wage-indexing rules. COLA uses CPI-W. Future projections must keep those assumptions separate.
Check the sources.
Data checked October 1, 2026.