TN 17 (03-11)

A. Filing date of report

The date of filing a report or deemed filing, determines if the report is late.

“Filed,” for these purposes, means one of the following offices received the report:

• processing center (PC),

• field office (FO),

• Foreign Service Post (FSP), or

• Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) Regional Office (VARO).

B. Determining when a report is late or timely

1. Annual earnings test

1. If an individual files an annual report after the due date, and the report is not deemed filed timely, see RS 02510.015A.4. For the definition of due date when the taxable year is a fiscal year, see RS 02510.015B.3.

2. For reports due after 04/15/97, SSA may consider a beneficiary’s W-2 information or self-employment (SE) tax return as the report. Consider all annual reports timely filed, unless a beneficiary attempts to receive benefits through fraudulent means, by failing to report the proper earnings to us and accepting benefits for which he or she is not entitled. An example is knowingly filing a SE tax return that understates income.

3. Because we consider W-2s and SE tax returns as the annual report required by law AND deemed as timely filed, a beneficiary may, without penalty, provide SSA with an earnings report or information related to his or her earnings at any time throughout the year.

2. Foreign work test and no child-in-care

A foreign work test or no child-in-care report is late when the beneficiary files it after a beneficiary receives and accepts a benefit for the second month after the month that the event occurred. If that benefit is not paid (i.e., is withheld to recover a previous overpayment), the report is late when filed after the beneficiary receives and accepts the next benefit.

EXAMPLE: If the event occurred in June, file a report before receipt and acceptance of the August benefit. (For penalties regarding the receipt and acceptance of benefits, see GN 02604.115.) If the Treasury Department did not pay the August benefits, file the report before the beneficiary receives and accepts the next benefit.