Social Security Administration Corrects Its Taxable Amount

In October, the Social Security Administration made its usual announcement about changes in the maximum salary level subject to the Social Security tax. The new figure was $128,700, an increase of $1,500 over the old limit.

However, in late November, the SSA took the unusual step of lowering this figure from $128,700 to $128,400. This makes it slightly easier to hit the ceiling than the previously announced figure. However, it is still higher—by $1,200—than the 2017 figure.

Why the change? The SSA bases these decisions on annual wage data, and much of it was late this year.

Fortunately, companies still have about a month to update their systems to reflect this revision.