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In the U.S., check your my Social Security earnings record to see whether your employer’s reported wages have been credited to your Social Security record. Compare the year-by-year amounts with your W-2s and other wage records. The record is not a receipt showing whether an employer sent payroll taxes to the IRS; it shows the earnings SSA has credited to you.
What your Social Security record can tell you
Employers report workers’ earnings to the Social Security Administration (SSA). They withhold Social Security and Medicare taxes from pay, send those taxes to the IRS, and pay an employer share. Your SSA earnings history is the practical place to verify that reported wages were credited to your record, but it does not show an employee-specific tax payment receipt or let you audit an employer’s IRS remittances. See the SSA’s Social Security publication on earnings and taxes.
A missing entry alone does not establish that your employer failed to pay taxes. Recent earnings may not have been posted yet, or a name or Social Security number mismatch may have prevented wages from being credited.
How to check your earnings record
- Sign in to your personal my Social Security account. Open your earnings record and review the full history, not just the most recent year. SSA explains the available review options on its earnings-record review page.
- Compare each year with your own records. Check W-2s, tax returns, pay stubs or pay slips, and other documents showing your wages. Look for a missing year, an amount that appears too low, or wages that may have been assigned incorrectly.
- Check the identifying information. Confirm that your employer used your name and Social Security number correctly on payroll documents. SSA notes that mismatches can keep earnings from being credited to the worker’s record; see its employer guidance on name and SSN mismatches.
If you cannot use an online account, SSA says you can request a mailed Social Security Statement or call 1-800-772-1213. TTY users can call 1-800-325-0778. Its review page lists phone service in most U.S. time zones, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
When to check—and how to interpret a missing year
SSA recommends checking the prior year’s earnings in August. Earnings for the current year and the preceding year may not yet appear in your record, so do not treat a recent omission by itself as proof of nonpayment. Keep your wage documents and check again after time for processing; contact SSA if an older discrepancy remains. SSA describes this timing in its record-review guidance and its March 2025 publication on correcting earnings records.
How to correct missing or incorrect earnings
The right route depends on whether the employer’s wage report was wrong or the wages are simply missing from your SSA record.
If the employer reported wages incorrectly
Ask the employer to review its wage report. If it submitted incorrect wage information, the employer should generally correct it with Form W-2c, Corrected Wage and Tax Statement. SSA says employees do not need to make the correction themselves once the employer has submitted the W-2c; see its W-2c employer FAQ.
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You may be able to request an earnings correction online through my Social Security. If that option is unavailable, contact SSA by phone or arrange office assistance. SSA may ask you to complete Form SSA-7008, Request for Correction of Earnings Record, and provide supporting evidence. Examples include a W-2, tax return, wage stub or pay slip, other wage records, or documents showing that you worked. The SSA’s correction publication describes the evidence and contact options.
Act promptly on older discrepancies
SSA’s ordinary deadline for correcting earnings is 3 years, 3 months, and 15 days after the end of the taxable year in which the wages were paid. SSA lists exceptions, including certain employer reporting omissions and cases where an employer reported wages as paid to you but those wages are missing from your SSA record. Do not assume an older correction is automatically barred: contact SSA promptly, explain the discrepancy, and submit the records you have. See the SSA’s earnings-correction time-limit FAQ.
Do you need a detailed earnings statement?
For the usual check, the earnings history in your account or a mailed Social Security Statement is the appropriate starting point. SSA provides yearly earnings totals without charge. A detailed or certified earnings statement may require Form SSA-7050 and a fee; it is generally unnecessary for checking whether your earnings appear in the record. SSA explains the distinction in its earnings statement FAQ.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.If the concern is unpaid wages or payroll-tax misconduct
An SSA earnings-record check addresses whether wages were credited to your Social Security history; it does not resolve whether you received all wages owed or whether an employer properly remitted payroll taxes to the IRS. If your concern is unpaid wages or suspected payroll-tax misconduct, the record check alone cannot establish the answer.
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