SS held back $3600 of my ss retirement checks. They said in 2017 i WAS going to earn more then the $16000 i WAS aloud to earn. I only earned $11081. On my w2 box 1 wages and tips $11081.27. However on box 12b D there is $12039.65. Adding these two numbers together I get 23120.92. That number $23120.92 is in box 3 on the w2 social security wages. However part of the $12039.65 was for money earned in a prior year. Sick pay $4965 and vacation earned but not used. $2346.79.
How do I convince ss to not use the numbers in box 12b? Second will I ever get back the $3600 they withheld before they started paying me anything?

Hi,

No matter what, Social Security would refund any withheld amount of benefits that exceeds $1 for each $2 that you earned in excess of $16,920 last year. However, it sounds like your countable earnings may have been below $16,920 last year.

Social Security assumes in the absence of evidence to the contrary that you earned the amount shown as Social Security wages on your W-2 form. If that amount includes excludable special pay such as sick and/or vacation pay paid at the time of your retirement, then you must call this to Social Security's attention to get them to exclude it from counting. You can do that by submitting a form SSA-131 (https://www.ssa.gov/forms/ssa-131.pdf) completed by your former employer, although a specific form is not required. It sounds like you need to contact Social Security and submit to them some type of proof of the special payments that were included on your W-2 form.

Best, Jerry