Activity of extrasynaptic GABA_A receptors mediating tonic inhibition is thought to play an important role for the excitability of the mammalian cerebral cortex. However, little is known about the cell-type specific expression of tonic inhibition in particular types of cortical interneurons. Here, we used transgenic mice expressing GFP in somatostatin-positive (SOM) interneurons and investigated tonic inhibition in SOM interneurons versus pyramidal cells in neocortical layers 2/3. In brain slices, pyramidal cells showed a tonic current of 66 ± 19 pA in response to the -subunit selective GABA-A agonist THIP (1 µM). On the other hand, tonic inhibition was absent in SOM interneurons (8 ± 1 pA) in response to THIP. As opposed to pyramidal cells, SOM interneurons were also insensitive to the -subunit preferring neurosteriod THDOC (100 nM) and to elevated endogenous GABA levels in the slice. Finally, SOM interneurons received only 45% of the phasic charge transfer during GABA_A receptor-mediated synaptic activity compared with pyramidal cells. Altogether, our study indicates that SOM interneurons receive relatively weak inhibitory input, and cannot be brought under the influence of tonic inhibition.