I am a naturalized senior citizen self-employed as a consultant with a registered sole proprietorship. I pay self-employment social security taxes that earn me quarterly credits. How can my wife who is also qualified in my field and helping in my work become eligible to earn social security credits? We file under MFJ, but I have not paid her separately for services. Thank you.

Hi. I don't have sufficient facts to be able to give you any specific advice, but a person can earn Social Security quarters of coverage either by earning wages or by paying self-employment taxes (https://www.ssa.gov/oact/cola/QC.html). You could potentially pay your wife a salary, but you'd then need to have an employer identification number (EIN), and you'd need to withhold and pay the appropriate Social Security taxes and matching employer taxes )https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p15.pdf.)

Alternatively, your wife could pay self-employment taxes on income she produces as a sole proprietor or as a partner in a partnership. To get Social Security credits based on self-employment, though, your wife would need to pay the self-employment taxes under her own Social Security number. Self-employment taxes are calculated and reported on Schedule SE of a person's tax return.

Best, Jerry