Paying for but not Receiving Your Social Security Benefits – The Consequence of Filing Late

We have had many posts on the myriad of consequences of filing late tax returns. One we have not discussed results when a self-employed taxpayer files more than three years late. In that situation, the individual must still pay the self-employment tax; however, the individual receives no social security benefits as a result of those payments. As the economy drives more and more individuals into jobs in which they have independent contractor status, the importance of filing on time increases in order to preserve future benefits available to those who qualify for social security.

When a non-filer shows up, sometimes we triage their return for the year in which the refund statute of limitations will soon expire. If it appears that the taxpayer will receive a refund, a last minute push occurs to send that return in before the expiration of the statute of limitations which is generally three years from the due date of the return. If it appears that the taxpayer owes money, the same last minute push may not occur. Because filing the return before three years from the original due date could preserve for the individual the ability to get credit for self-employment earnings for purposes of calculating the amount of social security they will receive, or even whether they will qualify for social security, the practitioner who has the chance to file the return before three years from the due date of the original return should make every effort to do so.


In order to receive social security benefits based on age, an individual must accumulate 40 quarters of earnings. To receive social security disability benefits, the individuals needs 32 quarters.   In 2017, an individual receives credit for a quarter of social security earnings if they have $1,300 of qualified earnings. Anyone earning more than $5,200 in 2017 will receive four quarters of credit – the most quarters it is possible to earn in a single year. In addition to meeting the number of quarters necessary to obtain benefits, an individual receives social security benefits based on the amount of their earnings. While the formula skews towards individuals at the lower end of the earnings spectrum by giving a higher return on those earnings in calculating the benefits, the more a person earns the higher their social security benefits.

Here are the directions from Social Security on how to calculate your projected benefit. You can find Column A and B here. I include this primarily to show how valuable the lower earnings are to someone compared to the earnings over $5,336 and how the benefit skews to provide the greatest assistance to those who will likely have the greatest need. 

Step 1: your earnings in Column B, but not more than the amount shown in Column A. If you have no earnings, enter “0.”

Step 2: Multiply the amounts in Column B by the index factors in Column C, and enter the results in Column D. This gives you your indexed earnings, or the estimated value of your earnings in current dollars.

Step 3: Choose from Column D the 35 years with the highest amounts. Add these amounts. $_________

Step 4: Divide the result from Step 3 by 420 (the number of months in 35 years). Round down to the next lowest dollar. This will give you your average indexed monthly earnings. $_________

Step 5:

  1. Multiply the first $885 in Step 4 by 90%. $_________
  2. Multiply the amount in Step 4 over $885, and less than or equal to $5,336, by 32%. $_________
  3. Multiply the amount in Step 4 over $5,336 by 15%. $_________

Step 6: Add a, b, and c from Step 5. Round down to the next lowest dollar. This is your estimated monthly retirement benefit at … your full retirement age. $_________

The aged based benefit is calculated based on the highest 35 years of earnings. Some of my earnings from the 1960s and 1970s when I worked summer jobs while going to school and a quarter of earnings could accumulate for $250 will not do much to push up my high 35 years of earnings, but these quarters did provide a benefit to me in reaching the 40 quarters because all of my earnings when working for the federal government involved no social security taxation and therefore no buildup of earnings or quarters. Federal employees hired starting in the mid-1980s do pay social security, but some state and local government employees may still be outside of the social security system from their primary earnings. Some of my clients have not yet earned enough quarters to receive any social security benefits. Making sure that they understand the importance of earning enough quarters and the link between filing their tax return and earning quarters is something we try to impart.

What can you do if your client has failed to file their return within the normal time period for having their earnings count toward social security? Several exceptions apply to individuals in these circumstances; however, the exceptions are narrow:


1. To correct an entry established through fraud;







(1) A self-employment tax return for that year was filed before the time limit ran out; and



(1) Be for the same taxable year as the year in which the wages were removed; and

(2) Have already been included on the individual’s Social Security record.


(1) Applied for benefits and stated that the earnings for a year(s) were incorrect; or

(2) Requested a revision of his or her earnings record for a year(s).

The time limit can also be extended if an investigation was in progress. Because of the manner in which social security benefits work, it may not be the taxpayer who wants or needs to correct the social security records. It could be a spouse or a child or someone else who can obtain benefits derivatively from the individual with the earnings.

Some sources for correcting the social security statement can be found here, here and here.





Promoting, Not Discouraging, Tax Compliance











