I am self employed. I have not paid into the social security system in many years. I think since 1997. There were about two years in between that I paid but no more. My question is can I pay in to bring them up to current where they should be??

Hi,

My husband and i are self employed. The business is under his social security number in a sole proprietorship. When we pay quarterly taxes, its under his ssn. We file taxes jointly. My ssn statement shows 0 income for me. I havent worked for another company for 6 years. My cpa said since we have been married 40 years, I didn't have to worry about getting social security money, I would automatically get it. Im 61 and so is my husband. Is it true i would get social security $ based on being his spouse and equal owner in our business? Should I do anything different?

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 am a 28 year old pastor, and I recently realized that our tax professional made a significant mistake on the last 5 years of my taxes. He didn't report any social security, and as a result, I have "0" balances for those years on my social security statement. I'm in the process of working with a new tax professional to clear this up. My question is about years 2012 and 2013 - since they are past the 3 year and 3 month mark, do I need to pay those years back? If so, will I still get credit for them when I retire even though they were paid late? Thanks.

Larry,

Hi Larry, My brother became disabled at 40 yrs. old due to a brain tumor. He was immediately declared disabled and began receiving benefits but not the SSDI part because we were told he didn't have enough earnings credits. He had become self employed in last few years, not working much due to the symptoms he was having. We had a hearing with a law judge who told me to check on his tax returns, make sure he had filed every year, make amendments, etc. I did all the above based on the files and information I could find and my brothers memory.

May I ask 2 questions.
1. Years ago, (being self employed) I had some income tax problems and did not file for years. I finally filed and paid my back taxes on an offer and comprise. I just turned 62 and filed for my SS but 4 of my top years were not credited. At the SS office they said it was due to the fact that I did not pay those years within a 3 year 3 month 14 day time period(?). Is this correct? If so is there any way around it?

I receive SSDI. I am Christian minister. Do social security consider being a minister as working? Could I lose my benefits? Can I have a nonprofit organization to feed the hungry and receive social security diability benefits?

Hi,

Larry: I posed a question earlier today that you answered a few minutes ago. However I believe your answer was based on some wrong assumptions concerning my situation:
1. I am a sole proprietor for tax filing purposes. My wife is not an employee or a joint owner/partner in my real estate business. We are only "joint" as tax filers.
2. She is NOT going to file for SS benefits until age 70, as is the case with myself (we are both 67 in 2017--she before me).

I've operated my own real estate brokerage in Michigan for several years and am re-examining strategies I've employed for the past 10 years or so regarding the maximizing of both my wife and my future social security benefits. My wife and I are both 66 and we decided based on our health, continued income, savings, etc. to put off filing for SS benefits until age 70.