Updated October 19, 2026. Quick answer: Form 8919 is the Uncollected Social Security and Medicare Tax on Wages. You file it when a firm paid you as if you were an independent contractor, you believe you were an employee, and the firm did not withhold your share of social security and Medicare tax. Each firm needs one of four reason codes, and the tax is figured on lines 6 to 13.
More IRS forms and schedules for individual filers, read line by line: Form 4137 instructions.
Who must file Form 8919
The form begins: “You must file Form 8919 if all of the following apply.” The first three points are “You performed services for a firm.” and “You believe your pay from the firm wasn’t for services as an independent contractor.” and “The firm didn’t withhold your share of social security and Medicare taxes from your pay.” The fourth point ties the filing to a reason code, covered below.
The instructions describe the purpose: “Use Form 8919 to figure and report your share of the uncollected social security and Medicare taxes due on your compensation if you were an employee but were treated as an independent contractor by your employer.” The form also gives a benefit: “By filing this form, your social security earnings will be credited to your social security record.”
A married couple files separately here: “If married, complete a separate Form 8919 for each spouse who must file this form.”
What the form is not for
The instructions list uses that belong on other forms. “Don’t use this form:” “For services you performed as an independent contractor.” For those services, “use Schedule C (Form 1040), Profit or Loss From Business, to report the income.”
The second exclusion is tips: “To figure the social security and Medicare tax owed on tips you didn’t report to your employer”, which use Form 4137. The word firm is broad: “any individual, business enterprise, company, nonprofit organization, state, or other entity for which you performed services.” Also, “This firm may or may not have paid you directly for these services.”
Reason codes and the firm columns
The form says “For each firm listed below, enter in column (c) the applicable reason code for filing this form.” The four codes are in the table.
| Reason code | As printed on the form |
|---|---|
| A | “I filed Form SS-8 and received a determination letter stating that I am an employee of this firm.” |
| C | “I received other correspondence from the IRS stating that I am an employee.” |
| G | “I filed Form SS-8 with the IRS and haven’t received a reply.” |
| H | “I received a Form W-2 and a Form 1099-MISC and/or 1099-NEC from this firm for 2025.” |
Code H has its own warning: “Don’t file Form SS-8 if you select reason code H.” If none of the codes fit, the form says “enter reason code G and file Form SS-8 on or before the date you file your tax return.”
Column (b) takes the firm’s identification number. The instructions say “The federal identification number for a firm can be an employer identification number (EIN) or a social security number (SSN) (if the firm is an individual).” If you cannot find it, “you can use Form W-9, Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification, to request it from the firm.” Column (d) is limited: “Complete only if reason code A or C is entered in column (c).”
Lines 6 to 13: figuring the tax
Lines 1 to 5 hold one firm each, and the wages you received with no tax withheld go in column (f). Lines 6 to 13 do the arithmetic, in the order below.
| Line | As printed on the form |
|---|---|
| Line 6 | “Total wages. Combine lines 1 through 5 in column (f).” |
| Line 7 | “Maximum amount of wages subject to social security tax” |
| Line 9 | “Subtract line 8 from line 7.” |
| Line 10 | “Wages subject to social security tax. Enter the smaller of line 6 or line 9” |
| Line 11 | “Multiply line 10 by 0.062 (social security tax rate)” |
| Line 12 | “Multiply line 6 by 0.0145 (Medicare tax rate)” |
| Line 13 | “Add lines 11 and 12.” |
If you have many firms, “Complete lines 6 through 13 on only one Form 8919.” Line 13 is the result: “Include as tax on your annual tax return”, and the form points to Schedule 2 (Form 1040) for most filers. Line 6 also feeds another form: “Also enter this amount on Form 8959, line 3, if you are required to file that form.”
Figures, the wage limit and what happens after
The rates and limits printed on the form and in its instructions are below.
| Item | As printed on the form |
|---|---|
| Wage limit on line 7 for 2025 | “the maximum amount of wages subject to social security tax has increased from $168,600 to $176,100 for 2025.” |
| Social security rate on line 11 | “Multiply line 10 by 0.062 (social security tax rate)” |
| Medicare rate on line 12 | “Multiply line 6 by 0.0145 (Medicare tax rate)” |
| Additional Medicare Tax | “A 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax applies to Medicare wages” |
| Firms per form | “If you worked as an employee for more than five firms in 2025, attach additional Form(s) 8919” |
| Railroad retirement limit | “don’t include an amount greater than $176,100, which is the amount subject to the 6.2% rate for 2025.” |
Reason code G carries a caution: “Use of this reason code isn’t a guarantee that the IRS will agree with your worker status determination.” It also says that “you or the firm that paid you may be contacted for additional information.”
To ask the IRS to decide your status, “File Form SS-8 if you want the IRS to determine whether you are an independent contractor or an employee.” The form adds “Don’t attach Form SS-8 to your tax return.” For the IRS page on the form, see the IRS page about Form 8919. This page is general information, not tax advice.
Which revision applies
The edition read for this page is Form 8919 (2025), which carries its own instructions and is the revision irs.gov served when it was read on 2026-10-19. Check the revision printed on the form you are attaching, because a later revision can change the reason codes, the wage limit and the line layout.
Common mistakes
- Attaching Form SS-8 to the tax return. The form says “Don’t attach Form SS-8 to your tax return.”
- Using Form 8919 for real contractor income. The instructions list this among the uses the form is not for: “For services you performed as an independent contractor.”
- Filing Form SS-8 with reason code H. The form says “Don’t file Form SS-8 if you select reason code H.”
Related: Form 1040 line 1g, self-employment tax, and Form 8959.
Sources
- 2025 Form 8919, Uncollected Social Security and Medicare Tax on Wages: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8919.pdf
Read from the agency documents linked above on October 19, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the account provider or the IRS is the right place to confirm anything consequential.