Social Security earnings test confusion - do December work hours paid in January count toward 2024 limit?

its when u get PAID not when u work the hours. if check comes in jan its 2025 income

This is one of those questions that seems simple but actually gets complicated with Social Security! For the earnings test, what matters is when the income is officially received/paid, not when the work was performed. So if you do work in December 2024 but don't receive the payment until January 2025, it would count toward your 2025 earnings limit, not 2024. However, there's a caveat - your employer needs to properly report this on your W-2 as 2025 income. Sometimes employers will include December work on the 2024 W-2 even if paid in January. You should verify how your employer handles this specific situation.

I went through EXACTLY the same thing last year!!! The Social Security office kept giving me the runaround when I tried calling to get a straight answer. I finally managed to reach someone who confirmed that it's based on when you RECEIVE the payment not when you EARNED it. BUT I spent 3 WEEKS trying to reach someone at SSA to get this answer!!! Endless busy signals, disconnections, and being put on hold forever. If you need to confirm with SSA directly, try using Claimyr (claimyr.com). They have this system that gets you through to an actual SSA agent without the wait. I used their service and got through in under 20 minutes after trying for weeks on my own. They have a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU Better to be 100% sure than risk going over your limit!

everyone saying its when u get paid is right but theres a special rule if ur in first year of getting benefits!! did u start getting SS sometime in 2024? if so the monthly limit might apply to u instead of annual!!!

I dealt with this exact issue and it nearly caused me to lose benefits unnecessarily. Here's what you need to know definitively: 1. For the Social Security earnings test, income counts when it's RECEIVED, not when it's earned. This is clearly stated in SSA POMS section RS 02501.015. 2. If your December 2024 work is paid in January 2025, it counts toward your 2025 earnings limit. 3. HOWEVER - as someone correctly pointed out, since you started benefits in 2024, the monthly earnings test applies for the remainder of 2024. Make sure you don't exceed $1,860 in any individual month for the rest of 2024. 4. For 2025, you'll be subject to the annual limit only (which will likely increase slightly from the 2024 amount of $22,320 due to COLA). The disconnect happens because IRS tax reporting and Social Security earnings test reporting follow different rules. Check with your employer about how they'll report your December work on your W-2, and if necessary, you can request a corrected W-2 or provide an explanation to SSA.

btw when u turn 64 the limit goes way up just fyi

Thanks everyone for all the helpful responses! To summarize what I'm understanding: 1. Income counts when it's paid, not earned, so my December work paid in January counts for 2025 2. I need to check with my employer about how they'll report it on my W-2 3. I still need to be careful about the monthly limit of $1,860 for the rest of 2024 This is such a relief - I was so worried about going over the annual limit and losing benefits. I'll talk to my payroll department tomorrow to confirm how they handle end-of-year pay periods. Really appreciate all the knowledge here!