# Earnings Limit while collecting SSI Retirement



## wallae (Jun 11, 2018)

Hi,
I am taking my social security retirement now under 66 and am allowed to make $17,040 ($1,420 per month) without a penalty.
I have a job 2 days a week where I make $660 a month but I also drive for Uber (I may gross $250 a weekend)
With Uber combined with my job my gross income may show me just a bit over the $1420 at $1660 but as you know this is not all profit/income. I pay for the gas tires and brakes.
With the IRS I am allowed to deduct actual costs of driving or .54 cents per mile which will put me well under the 1420.

(In a small city of 300 thousand I've been driving about 60 days. I tried driving the weekdays with only a 5.88 net an hour weekdays. Seems you wait 20 minutes, drive 10 to 15 minutes to pickup- drive a few minutes and make $2.78. Rinse repeat... but the weekends I can net 25 an hour on a great weekend and 11 on a real bad one and still be in before 10 when the drunks leave the bars.)

Do I have a problem? In other words, will they just see a quarterly report showing I took in something like 2000 and hold a check back?
Do I need to call them and explain this or do they wait to see my tax return?

Thanks


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## Stevie The magic Unicorn (Apr 3, 2018)

wallae said:


> Hi,
> I am taking my social security retirement now under 66 and am allowed to make $17,040 ($1,420 per month) without a penalty.
> I have a job 2 days a week where I make $660 a month but I also drive for Uber (I may gross $250 a weekend)
> With Uber combined with my job my gross income may show me just a bit over the $1420 at $1660 but as you know this is not all profit/income. I pay for the gas tires and brakes.
> ...


Tread VERY carefully and consult a SSA lawyer.

However when you are self employed or a business owner the expenses are taken out.

I've been disabled since the mid 2000s and working self employed since 2010,

I was advised by my attorney to not try to collect SSA benifits as long as i was self employed.

The reasons for this is that if i come close to the limit too often they can look at my other activities and determine if I could in theory engage in substantial gainful activity.

Huh?

yeah that sounds like shenanigans but it's true.

So report your income after expenses to the SSA, and keep it well under the limit...

And i have no idea if you will be fine or not...

They can also accuse you of "gaming the system" if you keep your earnings too close to the limit.

You can also deduct time that other people give you to help you with your business (even if for free)

IE and friend or family member cleaning your car for you would count.

This is getting into the category of needing a crooked lawyer to help you figure this all out.


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## Older Chauffeur (Oct 16, 2014)

wallae said:


> Hi,
> I am taking my social security retirement now under 66 and am allowed to make $17,040 ($1,420 per month) without a penalty.
> I have a job 2 days a week where I make $660 a month but I also drive for Uber (I may gross $250 a weekend)
> With Uber combined with my job my gross income may show me just a bit over the $1420 at $1660 but as you know this is not all profit/income. I pay for the gas tires and brakes.
> ...


Just to clarify, I believe you are drawing your regular Social Security at a reduced amount for starting early, not a disability
pension, right?

I did something similar, although the limit was lower then, about $1100 (13 years ago.) I kept careful track of my monthly earnings and when payment was received. It was never a problem, and my self employment income was reported on my tax return as net profit after expenses.

I guess there must be a link between the IRS and the SS dept. that alerts them to any earnings over the limit, but they wouldn't know on a monthly basis, as long as it averaged out at tax time and your SE earnings/profit comes in under the annual limit. Bear in mind you will continue to pay into Medicare/SS at a rate of 15.3% of your net profit on Schedule C, provided that profit is at least $400. The standard mileage deduction will come in handy!

The good news is that the penalty is they holdback $1 for every $2 you earn over the limit, but give it back to you when they adjust your benefit later on, so it's not lost forever. The other thing is the time for that restriction is limited, in my case at the start of the year I reached my full retirement age of 65. You can earn as much as you want once you reach full retirement age, if I remember correctly. I think for some reason the first year was most critical, because I started drawing in March and had been driving for a bunch of clients, equivalent to full time plus. I "retired" and cut back to just a few favorite clients.

I would suggest that you go in person to the Social Security office in your area, if there is one, or call if it's too far away. They can give you the straight scoop.

In the meanwhile, here's a link you might find helpful:
https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclop...urity-early-retirement-the-self-employed.html

Good luck!


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## wallae (Jun 11, 2018)

Thanks!!
>>Just to clarify, I believe you are drawing your regular Social Security at a reduced amount for starting early, not a disability
pension, right?
That is correct.

I think I will go in.

I just looked and most months I'm right at the limit 1650-1690. $1000 a month with Uber with no deductions at all for miles or gas and 660 at the job.
The exception was may (memorial day weekend) when I took in 550 for the weekend -1200 for the month gross making 1850 ish ...again with no deductions at all.

I would like to make as much as I can legally for a short bit as I've have been supporting a somewhat disabled 20 year old and my layoff from work was unexpected. Took on some debit to survive and I want to pay it off.



Older Chauffeur said:


> Just to clarify, I believe you are drawing your regular Social Security at a reduced amount for starting early, not a disability
> pension, right?
> 
> I did something similar, although the limit was lower then, about $1100 (13 years ago.) I kept careful track of my monthly earnings and when payment was received. It was never a problem, and my self employment income was reported on my tax return as net profit after expenses.
> ...


Great link!


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## FrankLStanton (Oct 18, 2016)

I hate to rekindle this older thread but I've got a friend in a similar boat as OP. Since she asked me the question, I'm researching a reply, hence this thread.

Her situation is slightly different in that while under full retirement age, she only drives rideshare for 'extra' money and the way that I've read the requirements HERE, Social Security is looking at 'earnings' over the $17o4o. As I read 'earnings', I read gross income which is BEFORE any deductions. This is concerning because of the way rideshare companies report driver's income on the 1099. Am I interpreting 'earnings' correctly or have I missed something?


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## UberTaxPro (Oct 3, 2014)

You missed this in your link:
"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. "
*Net profit *is after deductions


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## FrankLStanton (Oct 18, 2016)

Thank you. And yes I did miss the 'net profit' reference. When I googled, I first saw the max for 2017 and they called it 'earned income' which I understand to be ALL income. Then I saw 2018 max referred to as 'earnings', hence my confusion. Clearly, whoever wrote that page didn't take any Accounting classes;-) UberTaxPro , you da man! Thanks again.


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## Older Chauffeur (Oct 16, 2014)

FrankLStanton said:


> Thank you. And yes I did miss the 'net profit' reference. When I googled, I first saw the max for 2017 and they called it 'earned income' which I understand to be ALL income. Then I saw 2018 max referred to as 'earnings', hence my confusion. Clearly, whoever wrote that page didn't take any Accounting classes;-) UberTaxPro , you da man! Thanks again.


I think UberTaxPro will back me on this, but "earned income" is what you get for work performed, whether as an employee of someone else or from self employment. OTOH, "unearned income" is money made through investments, interest on savings, etc.


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