Form 4029 is the IRS application for exemption from Social Security and Medicare taxes and waiver of benefits. It's for members of a recognized religious group that's conscientiously opposed to insurance, including Social Security. If it's approved, you stop paying those taxes on self-employment income and some wages, and you give up the benefits for good. It doesn't exempt you from federal income tax.
This guide follows the November 2018 revision of Form 4029, which the IRS About Form 4029 page still lists as current as of October 2026. It's a one-time election, so it's worth reading the whole thing before you sign.
Form 4029 or Form 4361?
They're easy to mix up. Form 4029 is for members of a religious group. Ministers, members of religious orders and Christian Science practitioners use Form 4361 instead, which covers self-employment tax on their ministerial earnings. The top of Form 4029 says so in its caution box.
Who can apply
You have to be a member of, and follow the teachings of, a recognized religious group. The group itself has to meet every one of these tests:
- It's conscientiously opposed to accepting benefits of any private or public insurance that pays out for death, disability, old age or retirement, or for medical care, including Social Security and Medicare.
- It has provided a reasonable level of living for its dependent members.
- It has existed continuously since December 31, 1950.
You also can't have received Social Security benefits or payments, and nobody else can have received them based on your earnings. If you did, you can still file and be considered, but only if you've paid those benefits back. If you're already approved for the exemption from self-employment tax, you're treated as meeting the test for wages too and don't need to file again.
What you're agreeing to
Part I is a certification and a waiver. You certify how long you've been a member of the group, and that you're opposed to accepting public or private insurance. You then waive all rights to Social Security payments and benefits under Titles II and XVIII of the Social Security Act, which is the Medicare title, and nobody else can claim benefits on your earnings either.
You also agree to tell the IRS within 60 days if you leave the group or stop following its teachings. The waiver covers all wages and self-employment income earned before and during the exemption, and it can't be revoked for that period.
How to file Form 4029
- Fill in Part I with your name, Social Security number, date of birth and the name of your religious group, then your district or congregation on the second line.
- Have an authorized representative of the group complete and sign Part II, certifying that you're a member.
- Sign and date Part I yourself.
- Make two copies and send the original and both copies to the Social Security Administration's Religious Exemption Unit in Boyers, Pennsylvania, the address printed on page 2.
- Wait for your copy to come back. The exemption is granted only if the IRS returns a copy to you marked Approved, and you should keep that copy in your permanent records.
If you don't have a Social Security number yet, the instructions say to file Form SS-5 with the SSA first.
When the exemption starts
For self-employed people, an approved exemption takes effect when it's granted and applies to every year you meet the rules. For employers and employees, it starts on the first day of the first quarter after the quarter in which you filed. It lasts as long as you, and for wages both you and your employer, keep meeting the requirements.
Showing the exemption on your return
On Form 1040, once your copy comes back marked Approved, you write Exempt, Form 4029 on the self-employment tax line rather than working out the tax on Schedule SE. A partnership can be covered too, but only when every partner has an approved certification, which matters if you file Form 1065.
Employers have their own steps. A qualifying employer doesn't report exempt wages for Social Security and Medicare on Form 941, 943 or 944. On Form 941 it checks the box on line 4 and writes Form 4029 next to it, and on a W-2 it enters Form 4029 in the box marked Other. Employees without an approved 4029 still have both shares withheld and paid as normal.
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Filling in the group details correctly
The certification asks for your religious group on the first line and your district or congregation on the second, and the instructions give examples because people often reverse them. If you write Old Order Amish as the group, the district goes underneath, such as Conewango Valley North District. If you're Anabaptist or Mennonite, the group is written as, for example, Unaffiliated Mennonite Churches or Eastern Pennsylvania Mennonite Church, and the congregation goes on the second line.
The Social Security Administration then checks the group itself. Its section of the form records whether the group is recognized as existing continuously since December 31, 1950, providing a reasonable level of living for its dependent members and being conscientiously opposed to insurance. Only after that does the IRS mark the form approved or disapproved.
If you leave the group later
Your exemption stops being effective once you're no longer a member or no longer follow its teachings. You tell the IRS by letter, at the Philadelphia service center address printed on page 2. From then on, Social Security and Medicare taxes apply again to your self-employment income for that year onward, and to wages from the calendar quarter after the exemption ends.
The verdict
Form 4029 is narrow on purpose. It only works if your group meets all three tests and you've never taken benefits, and it's a lifetime trade: no Social Security or Medicare taxes, and no Social Security or Medicare benefits. Get the group's representative to sign Part II, keep the Approved copy safe, and write the exemption on every return that asks.
Frequently asked questions
What is IRS Form 4029?
It's the application members of a recognized religious group use to apply for exemption from Social Security and Medicare taxes, while waiving the benefits.
Does Form 4029 exempt me from income tax?
No. The form's caution says the exemption covers Social Security and Medicare taxes only, not federal income tax.
Where do I send Form 4029?
The original and two copies go to the Social Security Administration's Religious Exemption Unit, at the Boyers, Pennsylvania address on page 2 of the form.
Can ministers use Form 4029?
No. Ministers, members of religious orders and Christian Science practitioners use Form 4361 instead.
Can I file Form 4029 if I've received Social Security benefits?
Only if you've paid back the benefits you received. Otherwise you're not eligible.
