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Social Security Earnings Test Calculator,
2026 and 2027 limits.
This Social Security earnings test calculator estimates how much of your retirement benefit is withheld if you keep working before full retirement age. Enter your birth year, the tax year and your expected earnings, and it applies SSA's $1-for-$2 and $1-for-$3 rules.
2027 limits: $25,560 under full retirement age, $67,920 in the year you reach it.
Full retirement age: 67 years, reached in June 2029.
Wages plus net self-employment earnings, before taxes. Pensions, investment income and other benefits do not count.
Age when your benefits started
Only used to estimate your recalculated benefit at full retirement age.
$7,220
About 5 months of your $1,800 benefit. You would still receive about $14,380 this year.
How this was computed
At about $68,760 of earnings, every month of benefits in the tested period would be withheld.
Recalculation at full retirement age (67 years)
Withheld benefits are not lost. At full retirement age SSA recalculates your benefit and credits the months that were withheld, which raises your monthly check from then on.
Estimate for this year's withheld months only. Months withheld in other years add to the credit, and cost-of-living adjustments are not projected.
The whole year's earnings count, including months before your benefits start. In the year you reach full retirement age the limit rises and the withholding rate falls to $1 for every $3. Benefits for a spouse or children on your record can also be withheld, which this estimate does not include.
Field guide
How the Social Security earnings test works.
The retirement earnings test can temporarily hold back part of your Social Security check if you keep working while collecting benefits before full retirement age (FRA). It is a withholding, not a tax, and the withheld months are credited back into your benefit when you reach FRA.
The 2026 and 2027 limits
- Under FRA all year: $24,480 in 2026 and $25,560 in 2027. SSA withholds $1 for every $2 above the limit.
- The year you reach FRA: $65,160 in 2026 and $67,920 in 2027. SSA withholds $1 for every $3 above the limit, and only earnings before the month you reach FRA count.
- From your FRA month on: no limit applies.
Why the limits change every year
SSA ties both exempt amounts to growth in the national average wage, so they are announced each autumn alongside the cost-of-living adjustment. The 2027 amounts were announced on October 14, 2026, together with a 3.6% COLA. This calculator carries the published 2026 and 2027 figures, and later years are added once SSA announces them.
How the withholding is calculated
Use ÷ 3 in the year you reach FRA. The result is rounded down to a whole dollar and cannot exceed the benefits that can be withheld. The number of months affected is the withheld amount divided by your monthly benefit, rounded up, because a month with a partial deduction still counts.
Example: under full retirement age
Say you were born in 1962, receive $1,800 a month and expect to earn $40,000 in 2027. You are $14,440 over the $25,560 limit, so $7,220 is withheld. That is just over four months of benefits, so five months are affected (four in full and a small part of the fifth), leaving roughly $14,380 of your $21,600 for the year.
Example: the year you reach FRA
Suppose your 67th birthday falls in October 2027 and you earn $100,000, spread evenly. Only the nine months from January to September count, which is $75,000. That is $7,080 over the $67,920 limit, so $2,360 is withheld. Your benefit is not touched from October on.
Withheld benefits are recalculated at FRA
At FRA, SSA credits each month in which benefits were withheld. Every credited month removes one month of the early-claim reduction (5⁄9 of 1% a month for the first 36 months, 5⁄12 of 1% after that), so your monthly check goes up. In the first example, if benefits started at 62, the monthly check would rise by roughly $54. You receive the credit as a higher payment rather than a refund.
What counts as earnings
Wages and net self-employment earnings count. Pensions, annuities, investment income, interest and other government benefits do not. In the first year of benefits, a monthly test can let you keep the full check for any month your wages stay at or below $2,040 in 2026 ($2,130 in 2027), if you do no substantial self-employment work.
What this calculator does not model
Benefits for a spouse or children on your record can also be withheld, and this estimate leaves them out. It also ignores disability and survivor benefits, income tax on benefits, cost-of-living changes during the year and the exact month-by-month order SSA uses.
Disclaimer
This calculator is for informational planning purposes only and does not constitute tax, legal or financial advice. It estimates benefits withheld under the Social Security retirement earnings test using the 2026 and 2027 federal figures published by the Social Security Administration, and it does not account for the items listed above. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the Social Security Administration. For your actual benefit and withholding, check your my Social Security account at ssa.gov or contact SSA, and consult a qualified financial planner or tax professional before relying on these results.
The 2026 and 2027 exempt amounts, the $1-for-$2 and $1-for-$3 withholding rules and the full retirement age schedule are set by the Social Security Administration and its Program Operations Manual System. Rates, thresholds, and formulas are checked against SSA — Exempt Amounts Under the Earnings Test and updated when the underlying rules change.