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October 24, 2026 · Wendland Services Weekly · Issue six

The 2027 Social Security numbers are out: what changes for payroll, household staff, and retirement income

Welcome back to the weekly briefing. This issue covers the first official 2027 figures: the new Social Security wage base, the benefit increase, and what they mean for payroll, household staff, and retirement income. You can sign up at wendlandservices.com/insights to get each issue by email.

Issue four noted that the 2027 numbers were still pending, and issue five covered sales tax and where a business locates. On Wednesday, October 14, 2026, the Social Security Administration published its part of the 2027 picture. The Internal Revenue Service has not yet published its part.

1. The wage base rises to one hundred ninety-two thousand three hundred dollars

For 2027, Social Security tax applies to the first one hundred ninety-two thousand three hundred dollars of wages, up seven thousand eight hundred dollars from one hundred eighty-four thousand five hundred dollars in 2026. The rate is unchanged at six point two percent each for the employee and the employer. An employee at or above the base will pay eleven thousand nine hundred twenty-two dollars and sixty cents in 2027, up from eleven thousand four hundred thirty-nine dollars, and the employer will pay the same. That is four hundred eighty-three dollars and sixty cents more on each side, per employee.

Medicare tax is unchanged at one point four five percent each for employee and employer, with no wage limit. The additional nine-tenths of one percent of Medicare tax still applies to earned income above two hundred thousand dollars, two hundred fifty thousand dollars for married couples filing jointly, or one hundred twenty-five thousand dollars for married individuals filing separately. Those thresholds are not indexed for inflation.

2. What it means for owners and the self-employed

Self-employed individuals pay both halves: twelve point four percent of Social Security tax on net earnings up to the new base, plus Medicare tax on all earnings. At or above the base, the Social Security portion alone reaches twenty-three thousand eight hundred forty-five dollars and twenty cents in 2027.

For a family office or closely held company, the higher base is a budgeting item, not a reason to change course. Payroll budgets for 2027 should reflect the extra four hundred eighty-three dollars and sixty cents of employer tax for each employee earning at or above the new base. Executives who change jobs during the year should remember that each employer withholds up to the full base. Any excess employee Social Security tax is recovered as a credit on the individual return, but the employer share is not refunded.

3. Household staff and estate employees

Issue four walked through household payroll for 2026. The same mechanics carry into 2027 with the new base: Social Security tax stops at one hundred ninety-two thousand three hundred dollars of a worker's wages, and Medicare tax continues on every dollar. Few household roles reach that level, but senior estate managers, private chefs, and long-serving staff on a full-time salary can. Households with highly paid staff should update payroll software or notify their payroll provider before the first January paycheck. The cash-wage threshold that triggers household employment taxes is set separately, and Wendland Services will confirm the 2027 amount once it is published rather than estimate it here.

4. Benefits rise three point six percent

Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits will increase three point six percent. Nearly seventy-two million Social Security beneficiaries will see the increase beginning in January 2027, and about seven point three million Supplemental Security Income recipients will see higher payments beginning December 31, 2026. The average retirement benefit rises by about seventy-five dollars a month, from two thousand ninety-five dollars to two thousand one hundred seventy dollars. The maximum benefit for a worker retiring at full retirement age rises to four thousand one hundred eighty-eight dollars a month, from four thousand one hundred fifty-two dollars.

For family members who claim before full retirement age and keep working, the earnings test also moves. Beneficiaries under full retirement age can earn up to twenty-five thousand five hundred sixty dollars in 2027 before one dollar of benefits is withheld for every two dollars above the limit. In the year a person reaches full retirement age, the limit is sixty-seven thousand nine hundred twenty dollars, with one dollar withheld for every three dollars above it, counting only months before full retirement age. There is no limit beginning the month full retirement age is reached.

The Social Security Administration says the 2027 Medicare premium will appear in online accounts starting in late November. For higher-income households, Medicare premium surcharges can matter more than the benefit increase, so the premium announcement is worth watching.

5. Still waiting on the Internal Revenue Service

As of this writing, the Internal Revenue Service has not released its 2027 inflation adjustments for income tax brackets, the standard deduction, the estate exclusion, or the annual gift exclusion. Its published guidance plan lists that revenue procedure for October 2026, and last year's version came out on October 9, 2025. Private projections are circulating, but they are not official figures. Until the Internal Revenue Service publishes, 2026 gifts should still be sized to the 2026 amounts: nineteen thousand dollars per recipient, and a fifteen million dollar basic exclusion amount.

What to do now

Calendar watch

If the new numbers touch your payroll, your household staff, or your family's retirement income, a short review before January can be worthwhile. You are welcome to write to marcel@wendlandservices.com.

Forward this to whoever runs your household payroll.

Wendland Services is an independent practice in Bellmore, New York, focused on accounting, bookkeeping, tax, and consulting for high-net-worth households and family offices.

This note is educational, not advice for your facts, and not an offer of legal services.

— Wendland Services marcel@wendlandservices.com