1424.When can earnings records be revised after the time limit?

After the time limit has passed, earnings records can only be revised under the conditions described below and in §1425:

1. To correct an entry established through fraud;

2. To correct a mechanical, clerical, or other obvious error;

3. To correct errors in crediting earnings to the wrong person or to the wrong period;

4. To transfer items to or from the Railroad Retirement Board (if reported to the wrong agency), or to add railroad earnings to Social Security earnings records when the law permits;

5. To add wages paid in a period by an employer who made no report of any wages paid to the worker in that period, or if the employer is increasing the originally reported amount for the period;

6. To add or remove wages in accordance with a wage report filed by the employer with IRS; or, if a State or local governmental employer, with SSA if the report is filed within the time limitation specified for assessment, refund, or credit under a State's coverage agreement;

7. To add self-employment income in a taxable year if an individual or the individual's survivor establishes that:

   1. A self-employment tax return for that year was filed before the time limit ran out; and

   2. Either no self-employment income for that year has been recorded in the individual's earnings record, or the recorded self-employment income for that year is less than the amount reported on the self-employment tax return; or

8. To add self-employment income for any taxable year up to the amount of earnings that were wrongly recorded as wages and later deleted. This can be done only if a tax return reporting such self-employment income is filed within three years, three months, and 15 days after the taxable year in which the earnings wrongly recorded as wages were deleted. The self-employment income must:

   1. Be for the same taxable year as the year in which the wages were removed; and

   2. Have already been included on the individual's Social Security record.

9. Prior to the expiration of the time limit the worker or the worker's survivor has:

   1. Applied for benefits and stated that the earnings for a year(s) were incorrect; or

   2. Requested a revision of his or her earnings record for a year(s).

Last Revised: Aug. 25, 2009