I am 67 and my wife is 45 years old. We run two business and both work in the businesses. Is it better for me to claim and pay more self-employment tax on a larger percentage of the earnings, or would it be better for her to pay more into the SS system. Thank you!

Hi,

I would need to know your full earnings histories to be able to answer your question.

I can tell you, though, that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Social Security Administration (SSA) require profits from a sole proprietorship to be reported under the Social Security number of the main owner-operator of the business and they require employees to be paid commensurate with actual work performed. So the IRS or SSA could take exception if you distribute earnings in any other manner. We do not support the use of our software to game Social Security.

Best, Jerry