Self-employed hours limit before FRA - is it 45 or 15 per month for Social Security earnings test?

The hours test is ONLY 45 hours per month for self-employed individuals. If you work over 45 hours in your business in a month, SSA typically considers that month as not retired regardless of how much you earn. If you work between 15-45 hours, then it depends on the nature of your work and if it requires significant skills. Under 15 hours, you're generally considered retired.You don't report monthly - SSA uses your annual tax return. They'll compare your earnings to the annual limit ($22,320 in 2025 if you're under FRA the whole year). If you exceed it, they'll take back $1 in benefits for every $2 you earn over the limit.The tricky part is they might not discover this until you file taxes, so you could face an overpayment situation. I suggest estimating your annual income and if you think you'll exceed the limit, contact SSA proactively to adjust your benefits.

Thank you! That's really helpful. So they don't actually track my hours worked, they just use that as a guideline if they're investigating whether I'm \

my brother deal with this last yr. he got a HUGE bill from ssa, like $9400!!! they said he made too much money n didnt tell them. total nitemare. he had to setup paymt plan for like 3 yrs

This happened to a client of mine as well. He thought he was under the earnings limit but forgot about some 1099 income from a side gig. SSA computers automatically detect this when tax returns are processed and generate overpayment notices. The good news is there are payment plans available, and in some hardship cases, you can request a waiver of the overpayment.

Self-employment and Social Security retirement is complicated because SSA looks at two things: your earnings AND your level of activity in the business.For 2025, if you're under FRA the whole year:- Annual earnings limit: $22,320 ($1,860/month)- Hours test: Over 45 hours/month = considered not retired 15-45 hours/month = depends on skill level and managerial role Under 15 hours/month = generally considered retiredYou don't report monthly hours to SSA, but you should keep detailed records of both hours and earnings. SSA primarily uses your tax return to determine earnings, but if they investigate your work activity (which can happen with self-employment), they may request your hour logs.As for overpayments - yes, they typically aren't discovered until after you file taxes, which is why many beneficiaries get caught off guard. I recommend:1. Estimate your annual earnings in advance2. Contact SSA mid-year if your income will exceed limits3. Consider asking SSA to withhold benefits if you expect to exceed the limitThis prevents the surprise overpayment notice later.

This is exactly what I needed to know! I'll definitely keep detailed records of my hours. So if I estimate I might make $26,000 this year, that would put me $3,680 over the limit, meaning they'd withhold $1,840 in benefits (half the excess). Should I just call them now and tell them this, or wait until I have a better idea of my actual earnings?

Has anyone actually tried calling the SSA about this? I've been trying for WEEKS to get someone on the phone about my self-employment situation and it's impossible. Always busy signals or disconnects after waiting forever. Super frustrating when you're trying to do the right thing and report changes!

I had the same problem until I tried Claimyr.com - it's a service that holds your place in line with SSA and calls you when an agent is available. Saved me hours of frustration. They have a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU I used it when I needed to report some changes to my self-employment situation and got through to someone in about 40 minutes instead of spending days trying to get through.

ppl always focus on the money limit but the HOURS are super important for self employed!! my tax guy said ssa is cracking down on this. they can audit your business & ask for proof of hours if they think ur working too much. happened to my friend who runs a shop

This is accurate. The hours test is a separate consideration from the earnings test for self-employed individuals. SSA uses it to determine if you're legitimately

Everyone is giving good advice about the hours test, but I want to add something important about HOW Social Security determines your self-employment income for the earnings test. They don't just look at your net profit from Schedule C.They use a special calculation:- They count your net earnings from self-employment (after deducting business expenses)- BUT they exclude certain passive income like dividends, interest, rental income- AND they make adjustments for your Social Security tax deductionSo your countable income for the earnings test might be different from what you think of as your business income. This trips up a lot of people.

Oh great, another complication! So I need to track hours, estimate earnings, AND learn this special calculation? This is getting overwhelming. Is there a worksheet or something on the SSA website where I can calculate this correctly?

To directly answer your follow-up question: Yes, I would recommend contacting SSA now with your $26,000 estimate. They can set up voluntary withholding to avoid an overpayment. You can always contact them again if your earnings estimate changes significantly.And yes, there is an SSA publication that explains how they count earnings: Publication No. 05-10069 \

Thank you! I'll look up that publication and call SSA with my estimate. Really appreciate all the detailed help everyone has provided. This is such a confusing system but I feel much better prepared now.

my uncle said just dont report anything n hope they dont catch u lol. but thats TERRIBLE advice!! my brother tried that n got hit with the huge bill i mentioned + interest!!

Absolutely terrible advice! SSA's computer systems automatically match tax returns with benefit records. They WILL catch unreported earnings eventually. And besides potentially facing fraud penalties, the overpayment amounts grow much larger when discovered years later, plus interest as you mentioned.

Wait I'm confused about something else - does the annual earnings limit apply to gross income or net income for self-employed people? Like if I make $30,000 in gross revenues but have $10,000 in business expenses, am I over or under the $22,320 limit?

Great question! For self-employed individuals, SSA uses net earnings, not gross income. So in your example, $30,000 gross revenue minus $10,000 business expenses equals $20,000 net earnings, which would be under the 2025 limit of $22,320. They actually use a slightly modified calculation (net earnings minus 7.65%), but the important thing is that legitimate business expenses reduce your countable income for the earnings test.

I remember reading something about a special rule for the first year you retire??? like they look at monthly earnings not yearly??? anyone know bout this???

You're correct! There's a special \

As someone who just went through this process last year, I can confirm that tracking both hours and income is crucial for self-employed folks. One thing I learned the hard way is that SSA considers "substantial services" differently for different types of businesses. For consulting work like yours, they look at whether you're providing services that require your specific skills and experience - even if you're under 15 hours per month, if you're doing high-level strategic work, they might still consider it substantial. I ended up creating a simple spreadsheet to track both my hours and income monthly. It saved me when SSA did follow up with questions about my work activity. Also, don't forget that the hours test applies to ALL work in your business - not just billable client hours. Time spent on marketing, administration, bookkeeping, etc. all counts toward your monthly total. One more tip: if you're planning to wind down your business gradually, document that process. SSA looks favorably on people who are clearly transitioning toward retirement rather than just trying to work around the rules.

This thread has been incredibly informative! I'm in a similar situation - turning 64 next month and running a small marketing consultancy. Reading through all these responses, I'm realizing I need to be much more systematic about tracking my activities. One question I haven't seen addressed: what about business-related travel time? If I drive 2 hours to meet with a client for a 1-hour meeting, does that count as 3 hours toward my monthly total, or just the 1 hour of actual client work? I do several out-of-town clients and this could significantly impact my monthly hours. Also, has anyone dealt with seasonal variations in their business? My consulting work is much heavier in Q4 and Q1 (budget planning season), so I might go over 45 hours some months but be well under others. I'm wondering if SSA looks at this pattern or if going over even one month triggers issues. The spreadsheet idea is brilliant - I'm definitely setting that up today. And I'll be calling SSA to discuss my estimated earnings proactively rather than waiting to see what happens at tax time. Thank you all for sharing your experiences and knowledge!

This is such a valuable thread for anyone dealing with self-employment and Social Security! I'm approaching 62 and have been putting off claiming benefits partly because of confusion about these rules. One thing I wanted to add based on my research - for those tracking hours, make sure you understand how SSA defines "retirement" for self-employed individuals. It's not just about hours or income alone, but about whether you're "rendering substantial services" to your business. This includes things like: - Making major business decisions - Having regular contact with customers/clients - Supervising employees or managing operations - Being actively involved in day-to-day operations Even if you're under 15 hours per month, if you're still making all the key business decisions and managing client relationships, SSA might still consider you "not retired" for that month. This is especially relevant for consultants and other professionals who might think they can just reduce their hours while maintaining the same level of responsibility. I've been considering restructuring my business to have a partner take over more of the operational decisions while I transition to more of an advisory role. Has anyone here tried something similar? I'm curious if SSA recognizes that kind of gradual transition or if they expect more of a clean break from business involvement. The documentation suggestions everyone has shared are gold - I'm definitely implementing the spreadsheet approach and keeping detailed records of any business structure changes I make.