Social Security is financed through a dedicated payroll tax. Employers and employees each pay 6.2 percent of wages up to the taxable maximum of $184,500 in 2026. The self-employed pay the full 12.4 percent, but are permitted to deduct the employer’s 6.2 percent from their income taxes.
In 2025, total income to the Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance (OASDI) trust fund was just over $1.45 trillion. This income came from three primary sources: payroll tax $1.32 trillion (91%), interest on trust fund assets $69 billion (4.8%) and OASDI benefit taxation $58 billion (4%). The trust fund assets at the end of 2025 totaled about $2.6 trillion.
Also in 2023, the Social Security Administration paid a total of just under $1.6 trillion in benefits to 70 million Americans, at an administrative cost of about $7 billion.
The payroll tax rates are set by law and apply to earnings up to the taxable maximum, which in 2026 was $184,500. This amount, called the earnings base, rises as average wages increase. The following table reflects the portion of the tax rate that is dedicated to the OASI and the DI Trust Funds.
Share of the Tax Rate for Each Trust Fund
Year OASI DI OASDI
2016 through 2018 5.015 1.185 6.2%
2019 and later 5.30 0.90 6.2%
SOURCE:
Trust Fund Data:
https://www.ssa.gov/oact/TR/2026/tr2026.pdf
Government Relations and Policy July 2026