You can get a jump on some aspects of planning for 2024: The estimated Social Security taxable wage base has been released.
Sometimes, you’ve had to wait until August, but this year the annual report containing wage base information was available by the last day of March.
The 2024 projection? $167,700.
That’s up from the current number of $160,200. So, you’re looking at a potential $7,500 increase in the taxable wage base from this year to next.
Of course, both employers and employees pay the 6.2% Social Security tax rate, which means there could be a max payment next year of:
- $10,397.40 paid by each employee, and
- $10,397.40 paid by an employer for each employee.
The final amount for 2024 should be announced by the Social Security Administration in the fall.
Taxable wage base year by year
You’ll find details for longer-range planning within the hundreds of pages of The 2023 Annual Report of the Board of Trustees of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Federal Disability Insurance.
Here are the intermediate projections for the taxable wage base (the low-cost and high-cost numbers are also given in the report):
- $174,900 in 2025
- $181,200 in 2026
- $188,700 in 2027
- $196,500 in 2028
- $204,600 in 2029
- $212,700 in 2030
- $221,400 in 2031, and
- $230,100 in 2032.
In the report’s overview, it’s noted that the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund is projected to face depletion in 2033.
