Social Security earnings limit question - OASDI taxable wages vs gross income for retiree benefits

Social Security uses your gross wages BEFORE any deductions when applying the earnings test. It's not the OASDI taxable wages amount. This is a common source of confusion! The earnings limit for 2025 is $22,320 if you're under full retirement age for the whole year, and the SSA counts your gross earnings toward this limit regardless of pre-tax deductions.

i think its taxable wage not gross!! my brother in law works part time and collects ss and his tax guy told him its whats on his w2 box 3 (social security wages) not his gross pay!!

This happened to me two years ago! I went over the limit by about $3000 because I counted the wrong number. SSA sent me a notice and reduced my benefits the next year to recover the overpayment. It was a HUGE hassle so definitely figure it out ASAP.

The earnings limit for Social Security beneficiaries is based on your gross wages before any deductions, not your OASDI taxable wages. This is outlined in SSA's Program Operations Manual System (POMS) section RS 02505.001. Specifically, the earnings test counts your gross wages from employment and/or net earnings from self-employment. Pre-tax deductions like health insurance premiums, retirement contributions, or flexible spending accounts don't reduce the amount counted toward the earnings test, even though these deductions might reduce your OASDI taxable wages. If you anticipate exceeding the annual limit ($22,320 in 2025 for beneficiaries under FRA), you should proactively contact Social Security to report your expected earnings to avoid a surprising overpayment notice later.

I've been trying to call Social Security for weeks to ask this exact question but can't get through to anyone. The hold times are ridiculous and half the time I get disconnected after waiting an hour+. Has anyone found a better way to actually reach a human at SSA?

THEYRE GONNA TAKE YOUR MONEY EITHER WAY!! The government just wants to keep us confused so they can take back what they promised us. Its all a SCAM, they use whatever number is highest to make sure they can reduce your benefits!!!!!

One important detail that hasn't been mentioned yet: When you reach your Full Retirement Age (FRA), the earnings limit disappears completely. So if you're 64 now, you only need to worry about this for the remainder of this year and part of next year until your FRA month. In the year you reach FRA, there's also a higher earnings limit that applies only for the months before your birthday month. Additionally, when SSA reduces benefits due to the earnings test, they later recalculate and increase your monthly benefit amount once you reach FRA to account for the months when benefits were withheld. This is called the Adjustment to the Reduction Factor (ARF).

To directly answer your last question - if you expect to exceed the earnings limit, you should proactively report this to SSA. They don't automatically adjust it based on real-time earnings data. If you don't report it, they'll eventually catch it when tax records are reconciled, but by then you might have an overpayment that needs to be paid back.