With the November 3 midterm general election weeks away, counties across the country are still recruiting poll workers — and the pay is better than most people expect. Depending on where you serve, a day at the polls can bring $75 to $300 or more, plus paid training and bonuses for returning workers. But here is the part nobody mentions at orientation: that stipend is taxable income, nobody withholds income tax from it unless you ask, and if your total poll pay for the year crosses one inflation-adjusted line, Social Security and Medicare taxes kick in on every dollar — including the first one.
This guide walks through exactly how election worker pay is taxed in 2026, so you can sign up, serve, and keep tax season boring.
First, the Good News: What a Poll Worker Actually Earns
Election worker is the IRS umbrella term for everyone hired by a state or local government to run polling places: poll workers, election judges, ballot clerks, machine tenders, checkers, polling place managers, absentee ballot counters, and similar titles. Most are paid a flat fee per day or a stipend for the election period, which typically includes training sessions before and after Election Day.
Pay varies enormously by jurisdiction:
- Pennsylvania sets a statutory range of $75 to $200 per day, with counties deciding the exact figure and adding training pay on top.
- Milwaukee pays a $220 stipend for a full-day shift plus $45 for in-person training (or $30 for virtual training), with an extra $15 for bilingual inspectors at designated sites.
- Montgomery County, Maryland pays $250 for Election Day plus $50 per training course — and returning 2024 judges get a $100 bonus per full day served in the 2026 cycle.
- Burlington County, New Jersey pays $300 for working Election Day, plus training pay.
Work a primary, early voting days, and the general election in a generous county, and those stipends stack faster than you think. That stacking is exactly what makes the tax rules below matter.
Yes, Poll Worker Pay Is Taxable Income
Start with the rule that surprises the most people: every dollar a government entity pays you for election work counts as wage income for federal income tax purposes. It does not matter that the work is civic-minded, part-time, or paid as a "stipend." Compensation for services is compensation.
This holds even when the amount is small. If you earn $150 for a single day and never receive any tax form, that $150 is still reportable income on your return. The reporting thresholds discussed later decide what paperwork the county sends — not whether the income counts.
One narrow exception: reimbursements for mileage or other expenses can be excluded from wages, but only if they are paid under an accountable plan — meaning you substantiate the expenses and return any excess. Reimbursements paid without that substantiation are just more taxable wages.
No Income Tax Is Withheld — Unless You Volunteer for It
Here is the quirk that catches first-time poll workers off guard. Election worker pay is not subject to mandatory federal income tax withholding under Internal Revenue Code Section 3401(a). Your stipend check arrives with zero income tax taken out, even if you would normally expect withholding from a day's wages.
That is not a tax break. It is a timing difference. The income still lands on your return, and if you are not careful, a few hundred dollars of unwithheld wages can nudge up your balance due in April.
The fix is a voluntary withholding agreement under Section 3402(p). You can ask the jurisdiction to withhold federal income tax from your poll pay by completing a Form W-4 and giving it to whoever handles election worker payroll. Consider doing this if:
- You will earn enough from poll work (and other unwithheld income) that you would rather not owe at filing time.
- You are working multiple elections or many early-voting days in one year.
- You generally calibrate your withholding to land near zero.
Alternatively, you can simply set aside a slice of each stipend — say 10 to 22 percent depending on your bracket — in a separate envelope or savings bucket until tax time.
The $2,500 FICA Threshold: The Year's Most Important Number
Social Security and Medicare (FICA) taxes follow their own special rule for election workers, and 2026 raised the stakes. Under Sections 3121(b)(7)(E), (F)(iv), and 3121(u)(2)(B)(ii)(V):
- If you earn less than the federal threshold in a calendar year, your election worker pay is excluded from Social Security and Medicare taxes (assuming your state's Section 218 Agreement contains the standard election-worker exclusion, which most do).
- If you earn the threshold amount or more, FICA applies from the first dollar — not just to the amount above the line. Earn $2,500 and all $2,500 is subject to Social Security and Medicare taxes, including the first $2,499.
The threshold adjusts for inflation. It was $2,300 in 2024, $2,400 in 2025, and it is $2,500 in 2026 (confirmed in the IRS Employer's Supplemental Tax Guide, Publication 15-A). A few Section 218 Agreements set lower cutoffs — some as low as $50 a quarter or $100 a year — so workers in those states can owe FICA on much smaller amounts. The Social Security Administration publishes a state-by-state chart of election worker FICA coverage if you want to check your own state.
Why More Workers Will Cross It in 2026
Two trends are pushing ordinary poll workers toward the line. First, daily rates keep climbing: at $300 a day plus training pay, eight days of service gets you there. Second, early voting stretches the election period into many paid days instead of one. A returning judge in a county paying $250 a day with a $100 returning bonus earns $350 per day — seven days of combined primary, early voting, and general election service clears $2,500.
And remember, the threshold is per calendar year, per payer. If you worked your state's primary in the spring and serve again in November, both rounds count toward the same $2,500. Midterm years with primaries plus a general election are exactly when the surprise hits.
What Crossing Looks Like on Your Paycheck
If the jurisdiction expects you might cross the threshold, it may start withholding FICA from your first dollar as a precaution. If you end the year below the line, you are entitled to a refund of the withheld FICA. If the employer waits and you do cross it, the employer is on the hook for the full FICA amount. Either way, your take-home on the same stipend can differ from a fellow worker's depending on where each of you stands against the threshold — do not assume a missing FICA line on an early pay stub means none will ever apply.
The $600 Rule: When Your W-2 Shows Up
Election worker pay is reported on Form W-2, never Form 1099-MISC. Election workers are common-law employees of the government entity, so if you receive a 1099 for poll work, something went wrong — contact the jurisdiction's payroll office.
Which workers get a W-2 depends on two separate reporting rules:
- Not subject to FICA withholding: the county must file a W-2 if your pay totals $600 or more in the year (Section 6041(a)). Below $600 with no withholding, no W-2 is required — but the income is still taxable, so keep your own record.
- Subject to FICA withholding: a W-2 is required regardless of amount (Section 6051(a)). Even $150 of FICA-covered pay — possible in a state with a low Section 218 threshold — triggers a W-2.
On the W-2 itself, your full poll pay appears as wages in Box 1. Social Security and Medicare wages (Boxes 3 and 5) are filled in only if FICA applied. So a worker who earned $650 under the FICA threshold sees $650 in Box 1 and blanks in Boxes 3 and 5 — that is correct, not an error.
One more wrinkle: if you also work for the same government entity in a non-election capacity (say, you are a part-time city employee who also works the polls), the jurisdiction may report the two kinds of pay on separate W-2s. Do not panic if two forms arrive; report both.
State and Local Taxes Still Apply
Federal rules are only half the picture. Most states treat election worker pay as ordinary wages for state income tax, and some cities with local income taxes do the same. A handful of states offer small exclusions or special treatment for election worker income, but the details change often enough that you should verify against your current state guidance rather than assume. When in doubt, treat the stipend as fully taxable at the state level and let your tax software or preparer apply any exclusion your state allows.
A Simple Playbook for Poll Workers
Before you serve:
- Ask the elections office how pay is structured — daily rate, training pay, bonuses, and mileage — and whether the jurisdiction withholds anything by default.
- If you worked an earlier 2026 election, dig up what you earned. Add it to what you expect in November. If the total approaches $2,500, expect FICA treatment.
- Decide whether to submit a Form W-4 for voluntary income tax withholding.
While you serve:
- Keep every pay stub and note training stipends and bonuses separately. If your total stays under $600 and no W-2 arrives, your own records are the only proof of what you earned.
- Track mileage and expenses contemporaneously in case reimbursement treatment is ever questioned.
At tax time:
- Report all poll pay as wages even without a W-2. If a W-2 arrives with Box 1 filled but Boxes 3 and 5 blank, that is the correct look for below-threshold pay.
- If you crossed the FICA threshold, confirm Social Security and Medicare wages appear on the W-2. If FICA was withheld but you finished under the threshold, claim the refund.
- If you collect Social Security retirement benefits, check with the Social Security Administration about how poll earnings interact with your benefits before you serve — many poll workers are retirees, and the answer depends on your specific situation.
Track Small Income the Same Way You Track Big Income
Poll worker pay is the perfect example of income that is easy to forget: a few hundred dollars, no withholding, maybe no tax form, earned in a single long day that feels more like volunteering than working. But the IRS draws no distinction between a stipend and a salary, and the calendar-year stacking across primary and general elections means this year's total can surprise you.
The habit that prevents the surprise is the same one that keeps a small business healthy: write down every dollar when it arrives. A plain-text ledger where each stipend, training payment, and mileage reimbursement gets its own dated entry takes seconds per payment and gives you an exact year-to-date total whenever you need it — no digging through bank statements in April.
Keep Every Dollar on the Record
Whether you are picking up a single Election Day shift or working the full early-voting calendar, knowing the $2,500 FICA threshold, the $600 W-2 line, and the no-withholding default puts you ahead of nearly everyone in the training room. Beancount.io provides plain-text accounting that gives you complete transparency and control over your financial data — no black boxes, no vendor lock-in. Get started for free and see why developers and finance professionals are switching to plain-text accounting.
