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Automatic Increases |
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Office of the Chief Actuary |
Contribution and Benefit Base |
Automatic Increases | Social Security's Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability
Insurance (OASDI) program limits the amount of earnings subject to taxation for
a given year. The same annual limit also applies
when those earnings are used in a benefit computation. This
limit generally increases each year with increases in the national
average wage index. We call this annual limit the
contribution and benefit base. For earnings in 2009, this base is
$106,800.
The OASDI tax rate for wages paid in 2009 is set by statute at 6.2 percent for employees and employers, each. Thus, an individual with wages equal to or larger than $106,800 would contribute $6,621.60 to the OASDI program in 2009, and his or her employer would contribute the same amount. The OASDI tax rate for self-employment income in 2009 is 12.4 percent. For Medicare's Hospital Insurance (HI) program, the taxable maximum was the same as that for the OASDI program for 1966-1990. Separate HI taxable maximums of $125,000, $130,200, and $135,000 were applicable in 1991-93, respectively. After 1993, there has been no limitation on HI-taxable earnings. Tax rates under the HI program are 1.45 percent for employees and employers, each, and 2.90 percent for self-employed persons. |
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Note: Amounts for 1937-74 and for 1979-81 were set by statute; all other amounts were determined under automatic adjustment provisions of the Social Security Act. |
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