If you're self-employed, you pay the combined employee and employer amount. This amount is a 12.4% Social Security tax on up to $176,100 of your net earnings and a 2.9% Medicare tax on your entire net earnings.
When we figure out how much to deduct from your benefits, we count only the wages you make from your job or your net profit if you're self-employed. We include bonuses, commissions, and vacation pay.
Those who are employed by others pay 6.2%. Their employer pays the other half. Deductions you claim on Schedule C can lower your taxable income if you work for yourself. This will decrease your Social Security taxes in the present, but it could lower the amount of your future Social Security benefits.
For the earnings limits, we don't count income such as other government benefits, investment earnings, interest, pensions, annuities, and capital gains.
(NewsNation) — There is no limit on how much you can earn while receiving Social Security benefits if you have reached full retirement age, but if you choose to receive Social Security before that age, your benefits could be reduced.
High-Income Earners
High-income employees are not technically exempt from Social Security taxes, but part of their income is. In 2024, every dollar of taxable income someone makes above $168,600 (up from $160,200 in 2023) will effectively be exempt from Social Security taxes.
However, self-employed people must report their earnings and pay their Social Security taxes directly to the IRS. These taxes will help determine your eligibility for benefits later. You're self-employed if you operate a trade, business, or profession, either by yourself or as a partner.
Have you heard about the Social Security $16,728 yearly bonus? There's really no “bonus” that retirees can collect. The Social Security Administration (SSA) uses a specific formula based on your lifetime earnings to determine your benefit amount.
Social Security withholds benefits if your earnings exceed a certain level when you're under your full retirement age. In 2024, the annual exempt amount is $22,320 for recipients who aren't at their full retirement age. Anyone making more than that has $1 in benefits withheld for every $2 of earnings they're over.
Your benefit might be reduced if you get a pension from a government employer who wasn't required to withhold Social Security taxes. This reduction is called the “Government Pension Offset” (GPO).
If your spouse dies, do you get both Social Security benefits? You cannot claim your deceased spouse's benefits in addition to your own retirement benefits. Social Security only will pay one—survivor or retirement. If you qualify for both survivor and retirement benefits, you will receive whichever amount is higher.
At what age is Social Security no longer taxable? Social Security income can be taxable no matter how old you are. It all depends on whether your total combined income exceeds a certain level set for your filing status. You may have heard that Social Security income is not taxed after age 70; this is false.
Just because you don't bring home a paycheck doesn't mean you're not working. A stay-at-home parent can get a Social Security check just like any other worker.
The self-employment tax rate is 15.3%. The rate consists of two parts: 12.4% for social security (old-age, survivors, and disability insurance) and 2.9% for Medicare (hospital insurance).
You can start receiving your Social Security retirement benefits as early as age 62. However, you are entitled to full benefits only when you reach your full retirement age. If you delay taking your benefits from your full retirement age up to age 70, your benefit amount will increase.
If you will reach full retirement age in 2025, the limit on your earnings for the months before full retirement age is $62,160. Starting with the month you reach full retirement age, you can get your benefits with no limit on your earnings.
If you become disabled before your full retirement age, you might qualify for Social Security disability benefits. You must have worked and paid Social Security taxes in five of the last 10 years.
But even if you never worked and therefore don't have an earnings record, you're not necessarily out of luck. If you're married (or were married) to someone who's entitled to Social Security, you can collect spousal benefits equal to 50% of your husband or wife's benefits at full retirement age.
If you are self-employed, you will need to report your net earnings to Social Security and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Net earnings for Social Security are your gross earnings from your trade or business, minus all of your allowable business deductions and depreciation.
Pension payments, annuities, and the interest or dividends from your savings and investments are not earnings for Social Security purposes.
Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for more than 72.5 million Americans will increase 2.5 percent in 2025. Read more about the Social Security Cost-of-Living adjustment for 2025. The maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax (taxable maximum) will increase to $176,100.
Unemployment compensation generally is taxable. Inheritances, gifts, cash rebates, alimony payments (for divorce decrees finalized after 2018), child support payments, most healthcare benefits, welfare payments, and money that is reimbursed from qualifying adoptions are deemed nontaxable by the IRS.