He Worked 600 Hours of Wildfire Overtime at 64.
He Thought the New Tax Break Would Protect His Social Security Check
He Was Wrong. Quick Read – The “no tax on overtime” deduction only covers the premium pay portion and does nothing to reduce wages counted by Social Security’s earnings test. – Social Security’s 2026 earnings limit is $24,480, and exceeding it triggers $1 withheld for every $2 over. This calculation is based on total wages, not taxable income. – Workers collecting early benefits should separately calculate total wages against the Social Security limit and qualifying overtime premium for the federal deduction before overtime season. – Picture a 64-year-old on a seasonal wildfire mitigation crew in the Mountain West.
He filed for Social Security at 62 to help cover the mortgage. Then a brutal fire season hit, and the overtime started piling up. By August, he had logged roughly 600 hours at time and a half.