Do work reimbursements count toward Social Security earnings limit when collecting retirement benefits?
I'm 64 and drawing Social Security retirement benefits while still working part-time. My job requires occasional travel (2-3 times per month), and I get reimbursed for hotel stays, mileage, and meals. These reimbursements vary between $300-$700 monthly depending on how much traveling I do. I'm worried about exceeding my annual earnings limit ($22,320 for 2025 since I'm under FRA). Do these reimbursements count toward my earnings limit? My W-2 salary is already close to the limit at around $21,000/year, so I really need to know if these reimbursements push me over. I've searched the SSA website but can't find a clear answer about reimbursements specifically. The last thing I need is an overpayment notice! Anyone know for sure?
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Emma Taylor
Good question! Expense reimbursements that are properly documented and legitimately work-related (like your hotel stays and mileage) generally do NOT count toward your Social Security earnings limit. These are considered business expense reimbursements, not earnings. What matters is how these appear on your W-2. If they're properly classified as reimbursements, they shouldn't be included in Box 1 (wages, tips, other compensation) which is what SSA looks at to determine your earnings. If your employer is handling these correctly, they should be listed as non-taxable benefits. To be safe, I'd recommend checking your most recent pay stub to see how these reimbursements are being classified. If they're not being added to your taxable wages, you should be fine!
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Javier Garcia
•Thank you so much! That's a relief. I just checked my last pay stub and the reimbursements are listed separately from my regular wages under "non-taxable reimbursements." I was getting really nervous since I'm so close to the limit already.
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Malik Robinson
My brother got CAUGHT on this exact thing last year!!!! He thought his reimbursements were fine but SSA counted them and he had to pay back $2900 in benefits. So watch out!!!
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Isabella Silva
•That doesn't sound right. Proper expense reimbursements aren't supposed to count toward the earnings test. There must have been something unusual about your brother's situation. Was he getting a car allowance or per diem that wasn't directly tied to actual expenses? Those sometimes count as income rather than true reimbursements.
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Ravi Choudhury
Im in exact same situation! working part time at 63 and get milage for driving between clients. What about per diem? I get $35 a day when Im traveling over 50miles but dont have to show receipts. does that count toward limit?
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Emma Taylor
•Per diem is where things get tricky. If your per diem is within the standard federal GSA rates for your location (which $35 likely is), and your employer has an "accountable plan" for reimbursements, it shouldn't count toward your earnings limit even without receipts. But if your per diem exceeds federal rates or your employer doesn't have an accountable plan, the excess amount could potentially count as income. Might be worth checking how this appears on your pay stub and W-2.
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CosmosCaptain
I spent 3 HOURS on hold with SSA trying to get a straight answer about this same question last month!! Finally gave up. Their phone system is horrible, kept disconnecting me.
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Freya Johansen
•If you're still trying to reach SSA by phone, you might want to check out Claimyr (claimyr.com). They helped me get through to a real person at Social Security without the endless hold times. There's a video demo at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU that shows how it works. Saved me hours of frustration when I needed to sort out my earnings limit questions.
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Omar Fawzi
The real question you need to ask yourself is: how will SSA know about these reimbursements? If they don't show up on your W-2 as income (Box 1), they won't be reported to Social Security. SSA doesn't have some magic way of seeing your reimbursements if they're not reported as taxable income.
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Javier Garcia
•That makes sense. I checked my W-2 from last year, and the reimbursements definitely weren't in Box 1, so I guess I should be okay. Just wanted to make sure I was following the rules correctly!
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Isabella Silva
Let me clarify something important here. The Social Security earnings test specifically looks at your "gross wages" for employment income, which means the amount reported in Box 1 of your W-2. Reimbursements for actual business expenses under an "accountable plan" (which means you provide documentation to your employer) are not included in Box 1, and therefore don't count toward the earnings limit. However, if you receive allowances that exceed documented expenses or fixed per diems above federal rates, those excess amounts may appear in Box 1 and would count toward your limit. For the most accurate determination, you can request a Benefits Planning Query (BPQY) from Social Security, which will show exactly what earnings they're counting toward your limit.
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Chloe Wilson
•whats a BPQY? never heard of that before
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Isabella Silva
A BPQY (Benefits Planning Query) is a document from Social Security that shows your benefits, earnings history, and other information they have on file. You can request one by calling SSA or visiting your local office. It's very helpful for seeing exactly what earnings SSA is counting.
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Javier Garcia
•Thank you! I'll look into getting a BPQY. Better to be safe than sorry, especially since I'm cutting it so close to the annual limit.
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Malik Robinson
Ok so wait im confused... if i get a company car does that count for the earnings test too??
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Isabella Silva
•A company car can be more complicated. If it's exclusively for business use, then no, it typically doesn't count toward your earnings limit. But if you use it for personal purposes too, the fair market value of that personal use might be considered taxable compensation and could appear in Box 1 of your W-2, which would count toward your earnings limit. Your payroll department should be able to tell you exactly how they're reporting any company car benefit.
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Omar Fawzi
Just my experience but when I was in this situation a few years back, I called my local SS office (not the main number) and they actually answered! The agent told me reimbursements don't count but if I was worried I should just keep my W2 earnings about $1000 under the limit to have a buffer. Worked for me!
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Javier Garcia
•That's good advice about keeping a buffer. I'll see if I can cut back a few hours in the last quarter to stay safely under the limit. Thanks!
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