Skip to main content
October 27, 2021
Question

SS tax from contract casual employee

  • October 27, 2021
  • 1 reply
  • 0 views

I am 72 y/o but employed as a contractor on an as needed basis Do I owe SS tax on my earnings? How do I pay?

    1 reply

    October 27, 2021

    Yes you still have to pay Social Security  and Medicare even if you are 72 if you are working.   You will pay self-employment tax rather than have the SS and Medicare withheld from wages.

     

    TAX ON SOCIAL SECURITY

    Up to 85% of your Social Security benefits can be taxable on your federal tax return.  There is no age limit for having to pay taxes on Social Security benefits if you have other sources of income along with the SS benefits.  When you have other income such as earnings from continuing to work, investment income, pensions, etc. up to 85% of your SS can be taxable. 

     What confuses people about this is that before you reach full retirement age, if you continue working while drawing SS, your benefits can be reduced if you earn over a certain limit. (For 2017 that limit was $16,920 —for 2018 it was $17,040—for 2019 it was $17,640— for 2020 it is $18,240; for 2021 it is $18,960)  After full retirement age, no matter how much you continue to earn, your benefits are not reduced by your earnings; your employer will still have to withhold for Social Security and Medicare.

    To see how much of your Social Security was taxable, look at lines 6a and 6b of your 2020 Form 1040

     

    https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1899144-is-my-social-security-income-taxable

     

    https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/are-my-social-security-or-railroad-retirement-tier-i-benefits-taxable

     

    You need to file a federal return if half your Social Security plus your other income is $25,000 when filing single or head of household, or $32,000 when filing married filing jointly, $0 if you are filing married filing separately.

     

     

     

    Some additional information:  There are 13 states that tax Social Security—Colorado, Connecticut, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, and West Virginia.  These states offer varying degrees of income exemptions, but four mirror the federal tax schedule: MN, ND,VT, and WV

     

    https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/self-employed/help/what-is-the-self-employment-tax/00/25922

     

    https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/2902389-why-am-i-paying-self-employment-tax

     

    https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/2903027-how-do-i-report-income-from-self-employment

     

    https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/3398950-what-self-employed-expenses-can-i-deduct

     

    https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901340-where-do-i-enter-schedule-c

     

    **Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**