Overview
- The Social Security earnings test for 2026 withholds $1 for every $2 earned above $24,480 if you stay under full retirement age all year, and $1 for every $3 above $65,160 in the year you reach it.
- High enough wages before full retirement age can lead the Social Security Administration to withhold entire monthly checks once the formula says you forfeit that amount.
- Those withheld amounts are not gone for good because the agency raises your payment at full retirement age to credit back months lost to the test, which still squeezes near‑term cash flow.
- Working can also raise your provisional income, which is half your Social Security plus all taxable income and some non‑taxable income, and that can make your benefits taxable.
- Benefit taxes kick in when provisional income tops $25,000 for single filers or $32,000 for joint filers, and these thresholds do not adjust for inflation, so more working retirees are likely to owe over time.