Schedule SE changes: the 2025 wage base and the 2026 draft

The only What’s New item in the 2025 instructions is the wage base: $176,100 of self-employment income is subject to social security tax. The $400 net earnings threshold and the $108.28 church employee income threshold are unchanged.

The optional methods use a $7,240 maximum for 2025. The farm optional method is open to clients with gross farm income of $10,860 or less, or net farm profits under $7,840, and the nonfarm method to clients with net nonfarm profits under $7,840.

The IRS draft 2026 Schedule SE (created April 27, 2026) prints $184,500 on line 7, matching the 2026 social security wage base in the Form 941 instructions. The optional methods maximum on line 14 is $7,560, and the eligibility limits are $11,340 of gross farm income and $8,186 of net farm or nonfarm profits.

Clients with both W-2 wages and self-employment income need the wage base split correctly between the two. Low-earning sole proprietors who want social security credits may still use the optional methods, at the new amounts.

Accurate net earnings start with clean books. HelloBooks keeps business and personal spending apart through categorisation rules and a review queue, so the Schedule C figure feeding Schedule SE does not need rebuilding.