Ministers, members of religious orders, and Christian Science practitioners can apply to be exempt from self-employment tax on their ministerial earnings under §1402(e). Since clergy wages are typically subject to self-employment tax instead of traditional payroll taxes, those who claim exemption typically earn insufficient credits to have Social Security and/or Medicare benefits.
While §1402(e)(4) states that “An exemption received pursuant to this subsection shall be irrevocable,” the Clergy Act, Public Law 119-125, enacted on October 20, 2026, overrides that rule for a limited time period by allowing ministers, members of religious orders, and Christian Science practitioners to revoke their prior exemption.
Congress has done this three times before: in the Social Security Amendments of 1977, the Tax Reform Act of 1986, and the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999.