Notice2026-11050
Notice on Penalty Inflation Adjustments for Civil Monetary Penalties
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
June 3, 2026
Issuing agencies
Social Security Administration
Abstract
The Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (2015 Act) requires us to annually adjust the level of CMPs for inflation based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) and provide notice concerning these new amounts. We are providing notice that we will continue to use the 2025 civil monetary penalty levels as applicable through January 14, 2027.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 106 (Wednesday, June 3, 2026)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 106 (Wednesday, June 3, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Page 33284]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-11050]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
[Docket No. SSA-2025-0684]
Notice on Penalty Inflation Adjustments for Civil Monetary
Penalties
AGENCY: Social Security Administration.
ACTION: Notice announcing the continuance of 2025 civil monetary
penalties (CMP) levels for calendar year 2026.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act
Improvements Act of 2015 (2015 Act) requires us to annually adjust the
level of CMPs for inflation based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U)
and provide notice concerning these new amounts. We are providing
notice that we will continue to use the 2025 civil monetary penalty
levels as applicable through January 14, 2027.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jessica Stubbs Platt, Deputy Counsel
to the Inspector General, Room 3-ME-1, 6401 Security Boulevard,
Baltimore, MD 21235-6401, (410) 816-4054. For information on
eligibility or filing for benefits, call the Social Security
Administration's national toll-free number, 1-800-772-1213 or TTY 1-
800-325-0778, or visit the Social Security Administration's internet
site, Social Security Online, at <a href="http://www.socialsecurity.gov">http://www.socialsecurity.gov</a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 27, 2016, pursuant to the 2015
Act,\1\ we published an interim final rule to adjust the level of CMPs
under Sections 1129 and 1140 of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C.
1320a-8 and 1320b-10, respectively, with an initial ``catch-up''
adjustment effective August 1, 2016.\2\ We announced in the interim
final rule that for any future adjustments, we would publish a notice
in the Federal Register to announce the new amounts. The annual
inflation adjustment in subsequent years must be a cost-of-living
adjustment based on any increases in the October CPI-U data from the
Bureau of Labor Statistics (not seasonally adjusted) each year.\3\ We
last updated the maximum penalty amounts effective January 15, 2025.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ See Public Law 114-74; 129 Stat. 584. See also 81 FR 41438,
<a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/06/27/2016-13241/penalty-inflation-adjustments-for-civil-money-penalties">https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/06/27/2016-13241/penalty-inflation-adjustments-for-civil-money-penalties</a>.
\2\ See 81 FR 41438, <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/06/27/2016-13241/penalty-inflation-adjustments-for-civil-money-penalties">https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/06/27/2016-13241/penalty-inflation-adjustments-for-civil-money-penalties</a>.
\3\ See OMB Memorandum, Implementation of the Federal Civil
Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015, M-16-
06, p. 1 (February 24, 2016), <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/legacy_drupal_files/omb/memoranda/2016/m-16-06.pdf">https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/legacy_drupal_files/omb/memoranda/2016/m-16-06.pdf</a>. See also
81 FR 41438, <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/06/27/2016-13241/penalty-inflation-adjustments-for-civil-money-penalties">https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/06/27/2016-13241/penalty-inflation-adjustments-for-civil-money-penalties</a>.
\4\ See 89 FR 105674, <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/12/27/2024-30791/notice-on-penalty-inflation-adjustments-for-civil-monetary-penalties">https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/12/27/2024-30791/notice-on-penalty-inflation-adjustments-for-civil-monetary-penalties</a>.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
On April 17, 2026, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
published Memorandum M-26-11, Cancellation of Penalty Inflation
Adjustments for 2026, Regarding the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation
Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015.\5\ This Memorandum, among
other provisions, announced to the Heads of Executive Departments and
Agencies that due to the government shutdown in the fall of 2025,\6\
the Bureau of Labor Statistics was unable to produce the October 2025
data informing the CPI-U, which is necessary to make adjustments under
the 2015 Act. Consequently, agencies are instructed to continue using
the 2025 CMP levels as applicable.\7\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\ See OMB Memorandum, Cancelation of Penalty Inflation
Adjustments for 2026, Regarding the Federal Civil Penalties
Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015, M-26-11, (April
17, 2026), <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/M-26-11-Cancellation-of-Penalty-Inflation-Adjustments-for-2026-Regarding-the-Federal-Civil-Penalties-Inflation-Adjustment-Act-Improvements-Act-of-2015.pdf">https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/M-26-11-Cancellation-of-Penalty-Inflation-Adjustments-for-2026-Regarding-the-Federal-Civil-Penalties-Inflation-Adjustment-Act-Improvements-Act-of-2015.pdf</a>.
\6\ The federal government experienced a funding gap beginning
on October 1, 2025--the start of FY 2026--and ending when the
Continuing Appropriations, Agriculture. Legislative Branch, Military
Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Extensions Act, 2026 (Pub. L.
119-37), was signed into law on November 12, 2025. The funding gap
resulted in a ``government shutdown'' and the furlough of employees
who were not excepted. See The 2025 (FY2026) Government Shutdown:
Economic Effects [verbar] <a href="http://Congress.gov">Congress.gov</a> [verbar] Library of Congress.
\7\ See OMB Memorandum, Cancelation of Penalty Inflation
Adjustments for 2026, Regarding the Federal Civil Penalties
Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015, M-26-11, (April
17, 2026), <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/M-26-11-Cancellation-of-Penalty-Inflation-Adjustments-for-2026-Regarding-the-Federal-Civil-Penalties-Inflation-Adjustment-Act-Improvements-Act-of-2015.pdf">https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/M-26-11-Cancellation-of-Penalty-Inflation-Adjustments-for-2026-Regarding-the-Federal-Civil-Penalties-Inflation-Adjustment-Act-Improvements-Act-of-2015.pdf</a>.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Based on OMB's guidance, we will continue to apply the 2025 penalty
levels throughout calendar year 2026 until January 14, 2027.
Mark Steffensen,
General Counsel, Social Security Administration.
[FR Doc. 2026-11050 Filed 6-2-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4191-02-P
</pre></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on June 3, 2026.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.