Do the Amish receive government assistance or Social Security? As a rule, no. Federal law lets qualifying self-employed Amish opt out of Social Security and Medicare entirely, and church teaching treats accepting public welfare as a failure of the community’s duty to care for its own. Amish families still pay federal and state income tax, property tax, and sales tax like anyone else. What sets them apart is the social insurance system: many don’t pay into it, most don’t draw from it, and the community handles retirement, disability, medical costs, and hardship internally.
The Social Security and Medicare Opt-Out
The exemption sits in Internal Revenue Code Section 1402(g). It’s available to self-employed members of a recognized religious sect that has existed continuously since December 31, 1950, whose teachings oppose accepting benefits from any public or private insurance covering death, disability, old age, retirement, or medical care, and that has a longstanding practice of providing for its dependent members.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 1402 Definitions The Amish qualify.
To claim it, an individual files IRS Form 4029. That single filing is both the application and a permanent waiver of all Social Security and Medicare benefits, and it applies to every tax year the person continues to meet the requirements.2Internal Revenue Service. Form 4029, Application for Exemption From Social Security and Medicare Taxes and Waiver of Benefits The Commissioner of Social Security must confirm the sect meets the statutory criteria before the IRS approves the exemption.3Internal Revenue Service. Publication 517, Social Security and Other Information for Members of the Clergy and Religious Workers
The trade-off is real on both sides. The combined self-employment tax rate for Social Security and Medicare is 15.3% of net self-employment income, and an Amish farmer or business owner with an approved Form 4029 does not owe it.4Social Security Administration. 2026 Cost-of-Living Adjustment Fact Sheet In exchange, they permanently give up any right to Social Security retirement payments, disability payments, survivor benefits, and Medicare. Someone who refuses to pay without securing the exemption can be assessed back taxes plus a failure-to-pay penalty of 0.5% per month up to 25% of the unpaid balance.5Internal Revenue Service. Failure to Pay Penalty
Amish Employers and Employees
The self-employment exemption doesn’t automatically carry over into a paycheck. A separate provision, Section 3127, covers Amish employer-employee arrangements, but only when both parties belong to the same qualifying sect and both have individually approved exemptions on file.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 3127 Exemption for Employers and Their Employees Where Both Are Members of Religious Faiths Opposed to Participation in Social Security Act Programs When both conditions are met, neither side owes Social Security or Medicare tax on those wages. If a partnership claims the exemption, every partner has to qualify. An Amish employer who hires non-Amish workers has to withhold and pay standard payroll taxes on their wages.7Social Security Administration. SSR 82-44c – Coverage of Work for Amish Employers
Amish Working for Outside Employers
When an Amish person takes a job with a non-Amish company, Section 3127 doesn’t apply, because the employer isn’t a member of the qualifying sect. The employer has to withhold Social Security and Medicare taxes from each paycheck. Those workers pay in every pay period and build up credits, but church leaders discourage collecting the benefits later in order to preserve the community’s commitment to self-reliance. In practice, the contributions go into the fund and the corresponding benefits are usually never claimed.
Welfare Programs: SNAP, Medicaid, and TANF
Participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and Medicaid is extremely rare among the Amish. Church teachings treat public welfare as a failure of the community’s duty to its members. When a family runs into financial trouble, illness, or another emergency, the congregation covers it through mutual aid funds, household collections, and organized work parties.
Church elders enforce the norm, and members who apply for public benefits risk serious social consequences within the community. The most conservative Old Order groups treat any form of public aid as off-limits. Some less traditional affiliations may permit limited interaction with government programs in certain circumstances, though community pressure still favors internal solutions.
Health care follows the same pattern. Most Amish communities don’t carry conventional health insurance and instead operate church-run mutual aid programs. Members contribute a flat monthly amount, roughly $125 per person or $250 per married couple with children under 18 included, into a shared fund managed by the church.8National Center for Biotechnology Information. Sharing the Load: Amish Healthcare Financing The board that runs the fund negotiates discounted rates with hospitals, and individual congregations top up whatever the main fund can’t cover. Section 5000A of the Internal Revenue Code, which set up the Affordable Care Act’s coverage requirement, includes a religious conscience exemption pointing back to the same Section 1402(g)(1) sects.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 5000A Requirement to Maintain Minimum Essential Coverage
Farm Subsidies and Conservation Programs
Agricultural assistance is the exception. It’s the area where Amish families most commonly interact with federal spending, and it carries much less religious weight than personal welfare. Amish farms compete in the same commodity markets as their non-Amish neighbors, and federal farm programs are broadly understood as tools for responsible land stewardship rather than charity.
The Environmental Quality Incentives Program, run by the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, is one of the most common points of contact. EQIP provides financial and technical assistance to producers who adopt conservation practices covering water quality, soil health, and wildlife habitat.10Natural Resources Conservation Service. Environmental Quality Incentives Program Amish farmers draw on it for projects like manure storage, erosion control, and livestock fencing. Dairy price support programs and federal crop insurance also see participation from Amish producers running commercial-scale operations. Because these programs attach to production and land management rather than to a person’s income, they generally aren’t seen as inconsistent with self-reliance.
Workers’ Compensation and Unemployment
Injury and job-loss protections are handled inside the church rather than through state agencies. Many states allow employers and employees who belong to qualifying religious sects to apply for exemptions from workers’ compensation requirements. Those exemptions generally require the religious group to demonstrate a long history of providing for injured members, covering both living costs and medical treatment, and both employer and employee typically have to waive coverage.
In place of workers’ comp, Amish communities use church-run funds to pay for medical care and lost income after workplace injuries. When someone loses a job, the church or extended family provides temporary farm work or direct financial support rather than putting them on state unemployment.
Leaving the Amish Church
Someone who leaves the church faces immediate tax consequences. IRS rules require anyone with an approved Form 4029 to notify the IRS within 60 days of leaving the religious group or ceasing to follow its teachings. The exemption ends for the tax year in which the person no longer meets the requirements, and Social Security and Medicare taxes start being owed on self-employment income or wages from that point.3Internal Revenue Service. Publication 517, Social Security and Other Information for Members of the Clergy and Religious Workers
Years worked under the exemption don’t count toward Social Security credits. Once the exemption ends, the person can start earning credits from subsequent wages and self-employment income.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 402 Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Benefit Payments Retirement benefits require 40 credits, roughly 10 years of qualifying work, so someone who leaves later in life can struggle to hit that threshold before retirement age. Medicare eligibility runs off the same credits or requires paying a monthly premium for Part A, so alternative health coverage becomes a separate problem to solve.