What does the Clergy Act do?

It lets ministers, members of religious orders and Christian Science practitioners who hold an approved Social Security exemption (Form 4361) revoke it and rejoin Social Security. Coverage starts in the 2029 or 2030 tax year, at the applicant's choice. President Trump signed it on October 20, 2026.

What is the deadline to revoke a clergy Social Security exemption?

The application is due by the due date, including extensions, of your federal return for the second tax year beginning after December 31, 2028. For calendar-year filers that is the 2030 return, normally due April 15, 2031, or October 15, 2031 with an extension.

Can I opt back out after revoking the exemption?

No. Under the law, anyone who revokes cannot apply for the exemption again.

Will rejoining Social Security give me credit for the years I was exempt?

No. Benefits count your earnings only from the calendar year the revocation takes effect, 2029 or 2030. Credits from any other covered job you have held still count.

How do I apply to revoke my exemption?

You can't yet. The IRS has to issue the application form and instructions. The law requires the IRS, working with SSA, to give Congress a plan for notifying eligible clergy within 90 days of enactment, by January 18, 2027.

New Law Lets Clergy Rejoin Social Security in 2029

A new law gives ministers, members of religious orders and Christian Science practitioners who opted out of Social Security a one-time chance to opt back in, with coverage starting in 2029 or 2030. The choice is permanent and doesn't credit past years. Here's who qualifies, the deadline and what to weigh.

A new federal law, the Clergy Act, gives ministers who opted out of Social Security one chance to opt back in, starting with tax year 2029. President Trump signed H.R. 227 on October 20, 2026. Eligible clergy can apply to the IRS to revoke their exemption, with coverage beginning in 2029 or 2030, whichever they choose. The last day to apply is the due date of the 2030 tax return, including extensions. A revocation is permanent, and it does not go back and credit the years you were exempt.

Nothing can be filed yet. The IRS has not released the application, and the earliest year coverage can start is 2029.

Who can use the window

The law covers three groups who hold an approved exemption from self-employment tax that was in effect for 2026, the year it was enacted:

ordained, commissioned or licensed ministers of a church
members of religious orders
Christian Science practitioners

If you never filed for the exemption, or it was never approved, you are already covered by Social Security and the law changes nothing for you.

How the clergy exemption works today

For Social Security, a minister's pay for ministerial work is treated as self-employment income, even when a church is the employer. That means paying self-employment tax of 15.3% on net earnings from ministry: 12.4% for Social Security, up to the annual wage cap, plus 2.9% for Medicare.

A minister can opt out by filing IRS Form 4361, but the bar is narrow. According to IRS Publication 517, you must be conscientiously opposed to public insurance "because of your individual religious considerations," and you must file "for other than economic reasons." The deadline is the due date of the return for the second year in which you earned at least $400 of net self-employment income, part of it from ministry. The exemption covers only ministerial income. Any other job you hold is still taxed and still earns Social Security credit.

The catch is permanence. The IRS puts it plainly: "Once the exemption is approved, it is irrevocable." Because of the two-year deadline, ministers make the choice within their first years of ministry income. Until now, the only way out was a special act of Congress, and the last such window opened under 1999's Ticket to Work Act.

What the new law does

The enrolled text of H.R. 227 sets these rules:

How to apply: file an application with the IRS, in a form the IRS will prescribe.
Deadline: the due date, including extensions, of your federal return for the second tax year beginning after December 31, 2028. For most people that is the 2030 return, normally due April 15, 2031, or October 15, 2031 with an extension.
When coverage starts: your choice of the 2029 or the 2030 tax year. It then applies to every year after.
No going back: once you revoke, you can never apply for the exemption again.
Late filers pay up: if you apply after the return due date for the year you pick, you must include the full self-employment tax for that year.
No retroactive credit: benefits count your earnings only from the calendar year your revocation takes effect.
Outreach: within 90 days of enactment, which works out to January 18, 2027, the IRS, working with SSA, must send Congress a plan for telling eligible clergy about the window.

The bill passed the House 350–5 on April 27, 2026, and the Senate by unanimous consent on September 30. Rep. Vince Fong and Rep. Mike Thompson led it in the House, and Sen. Katie Britt and Sen. Maggie Hassan in the Senate.

Should you opt back in?

It depends on your age, your other work history and your family, and the law's backers have been careful not to tell anyone what to do. GuideStone, the Southern Baptist benefits board that backed the bill, says its role "is not to tell ministers what decision to make." A few things decide whether opting in pays off for you.

Credits. A retirement benefit requires 40 work credits, roughly 10 years of covered work. In 2026 you earn one credit for each $1,890 of covered earnings, up to four a year. Credits from any secular job you have held still count, so check your record before you decide. A minister with 20 credits from earlier jobs needs only five more years of covered work. Someone starting from zero at 60 may never reach 40.

Medicare. Premium-free Medicare Part A also generally takes 40 credits, either yours or a spouse's. For some ministers that matters more than the cash benefit.

Disability and survivor protection. Disability benefits require recent work as well as total credits, and survivor benefits for a spouse or children depend on your record. These protections are often what opting in buys a younger minister with a family.

Your spouse's record. If you are married to someone with a long work history, you may already qualify for a spousal benefit of up to 50% of their full benefit, which can narrow what opting in adds. Our guide to spousal benefits explains how that works.

Cost. Opting in means paying the 15.3% self-employment tax on ministerial earnings from 2029 on, with the usual deduction for half of it.

The benefit side is worth estimating before the IRS releases the form. Pull your earnings record from my Social Security, then try a few scenarios in our benefits calculator. The 2026 cheat sheet has the current credit and wage-cap figures.

What to do now

Confirm your status. Find your approved Form 4361. The law applies only if your exemption was in effect for 2026.
Get your earnings record. Your my Social Security account shows how many credits you already have from other work.
Watch for IRS guidance. The application form and instructions are not out yet. Expect them before the 2029 tax year.
Talk to a tax professional. The choice is permanent, so a tax professional who knows clergy taxes is worth an hour.

This article is general educational information, not tax or financial advice. Rules are drawn from the enrolled text of H.R. 227 and IRS Publication 517; the IRS has not yet issued the application or guidance. Confirm your situation with the IRS, SSA or a qualified tax professional. SocialSecurityNews.com is not affiliated with the SSA or IRS.