Social Security earnings limit confusion - individual vs joint tax filing impact?
I'm turning 64 next month and thinking about filing for my Social Security retirement benefits soon, but I'm confused about the earnings test. I work part-time as a virtual assistant making around $6,800 yearly. My husband (66) is still working as a maintenance supervisor bringing in approximately $31,000 annually. He hasn't filed for his benefits yet. My big question is: Does the earnings limit apply to our combined income if we file taxes jointly, or is it just based on MY individual earnings? I don't want to accidentally trigger benefit reductions. Does anyone know if the IRS tax filing status (joint vs. separate) affects how Social Security applies the earnings limit? I've read about the $21,240 limit for 2025 but don't understand if that's per person or household when you're married. Thanks for any help!
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Paolo Bianchi
The earnings test is always applied on an individual basis, not based on your tax filing status. Your husband's $31,000 income won't affect your benefits. Only your own work income counts toward YOUR earnings limit. For 2025, if you're under Full Retirement Age (FRA) for the entire year, the limit is $21,240 as you mentioned. Since you're only earning about $6,800, you're well under that limit and won't have any benefits withheld. One thing to consider though - at 64, you'll be getting a permanently reduced benefit (about 13.3% less than your full benefit). Each year you wait until your FRA (likely 66+10 months if you were born in 1961), your benefit amount increases. Just something to think about if maximizing your lifetime benefits is important to you.
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Keisha Thompson
•Thank you! That's a relief to know my husband's income won't affect my benefits. I was worried we'd have to file taxes separately. You're right about the reduction for claiming early. I've thought about waiting until my FRA, but honestly, I've got some health issues and family longevity isn't great on my side. Plus, we could really use the extra money now for some home repairs. I figure 4+ years of smaller checks is better than waiting for a larger amount I might not live long enough to make up the difference.
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Yara Assad
my case was different but same question, my wife collects ss and i work full time and we always wondered about this. we file jointly and her benefits are never affected by my income. so what the first response says is right based on our experience
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Olivia Clark
The way Social Security treats earnings is COMPLETELY SEPARATE from how you file taxes!! This is a super common misunderstanding. I stressed about this for months before filing. SS only looks at YOUR OWN earnings from work when applying the earnings limit. They don't care about your tax filing status or your spouse's income. BUT!!!! Your benefits might still be TAXABLE based on combined income when filing jointly. That's totally different from the earnings limit test though!!! Up to 85% of your SS benefits can be taxable if joint income exceeds certain thresholds. Given your combined income levels, some portion of your benefits will probably be taxable when you file jointly. So: earnings limit = individual Benefit taxation = can be affected by joint filing
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Keisha Thompson
•Oh wow - I didn't even think about the taxation part! So I won't lose any benefits due to my husband's income, but we might have to pay taxes on my SS benefits because of our combined income? I guess that makes sense, though I wish they'd make this clearer on the SSA website. Thanks for pointing this out!
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Javier Morales
When I was trying to figure this out last year, I spent HOURS trying to reach someone at Social Security to explain it to me. Kept getting disconnected or waiting for 2+ hours. I finally found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an SSA agent in under 10 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU The agent confirmed exactly what others are saying here - earnings test is individual, not joint. She even helped me calculate exactly how much I could earn without affecting my benefits. Saved me so much stress!
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Natasha Petrov
•does that service actually work? ive been trying to talk to someone at SSA for 3 weeks about my direct deposit issue
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Javier Morales
•It worked for me! Got through right away when I'd been trying for days on my own. The SSA phone system is just impossible otherwise.
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Connor O'Brien
I started collecting at 63 too and work part time. Nobody told me I had to report my earnings quarterly to Social Security! I just assumed they'd figure it out from my tax return. Then I got a nasty surprise when they said I was overpaid!! Just be careful and make sure you report income changes to them during the year.
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Paolo Bianchi
•This is good advice. While the earnings test is individual, it's important to report anticipated earnings to SSA if you'll be working while collecting benefits before your Full Retirement Age. If you don't, they may pay you your full benefit all year, then determine you exceeded the limit after you file taxes, resulting in an overpayment notice and required repayment. Better to have the reduction calculated in advance than to face an unexpected overpayment.
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Amina Diallo
The earnings test for Social Security retirement benefits is always applied on an individual basis. Your husband's earnings will not affect your benefits whatsoever. Only your own work income counts toward the annual earnings limit. For 2025, the annual earnings limit for someone under Full Retirement Age (FRA) for the entire year is $21,240. Since you're earning approximately $6,800 per year, you're well below this threshold. If you were to exceed the limit, Social Security would withhold $1 in benefits for every $2 earned above the limit. This withholding calculation is also done on an individual basis. To clarify completely: 1. Your earnings test is based solely on your $6,800 income 2. Your husband's $31,000 income is irrelevant to your benefits 3. Your tax filing status (joint vs. separate) has no impact on the earnings test However, as others have mentioned, tax filing status DOES affect how your benefits are taxed, which is a separate issue from the earnings test.
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Natasha Petrov
so does this mean she can earn up to $21,240 without any reduction??? thats actually pretty good
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Amina Diallo
•Yes, that's correct. For 2025, someone who is under their Full Retirement Age (FRA) for the entire year can earn up to $21,240 without any reduction in their Social Security benefits. Once they exceed that amount, $1 in benefits is withheld for every $2 earned above the limit. There's also a higher limit for the year you reach FRA ($56,520 for 2025), and once you reach FRA, there's no earnings limit at all - you can earn any amount without reduction in benefits.
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Yara Assad
You should definitely look into whether itd be better to wait until FRA to claim! My sister claimed at 63 and really regrets it now.
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Keisha Thompson
•I've definitely considered waiting, but between some health concerns and immediate financial needs, I think claiming now makes more sense for my situation. I know the math usually favors waiting if you live long enough, but family history suggests I might not make it to the break-even point!
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Yara Assad
•Makes sense! Everyone's situation is different for sure.
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Olivia Clark
WHY DOES SOCIAL SECURITY MAKE EVERYTHING SO COMPLICATED??? The earnings test, the taxation thresholds, the application process - it's like they WANT us to make mistakes! And then they send those scary overpayment notices! The whole system needs to be simplified.
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Connor O'Brien
•Tell me about it! I've been on hold with them for 3 hours trying to fix a payment issue and still haven't spoken to anyone. So frustrating!
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