Economy
Goodbye to the $168,600 tax income limit: The updated maximum amount of taxable earnings for Social Security in 2025
The money workers pay to Social Security is not going to disappear, but changes are coming in 2025 to adjust the amount to national wage trends.
Several changes are coming in 2025 that will impact our wallets and bank accounts. Although the 12.4 percent tax on workers’ earnings is still in place, the maximum work income that can be taxed is going up in 2025. Social security tax is split between workers and employers. Both must pay 6.2 percent of the workers’ income to total the 12.4 percent that goes to Social Security. The rate has remained the same since 1990, but the maximum amount of taxed income has increased over the years and will again in 2025.
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How much is the maximum amount of earnings to be taxed in 2025?
The maximum amount of income subject to tax for Social Security in 2025 will be $176,100. Income above this threshold is not taxed for Social Security. The maximum amount has been increasing steadily over the last 10 years as we can see in the chart below:
| Year | Amount |
|---|---|
| 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 |
For workers who have more than one job in a year, their employers must withhold Social Security taxes from the employees’ wages. This means that the total Social Security taxes withheld could exceed the maximum limit. When filing tax returns, workers can claim a refund from the IRS for Social Security taxes withheld that exceeded the maximum amount.
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