Earnings limits - income from wages

Assuming you're discussing retirement benefits, note that only your wages count toward Social Security’s earnings limits.

Your age is also a factor here. If you were born January 2, 1943, through January 1, 1955, then your full retirement age for retirement insurance benefits is 66. If you work and are full retirement age or older, you may keep all of your benefits, no matter how much you earn. If you are younger than full retirement age, there is a limit to how much you can earn and still receive full Social Security benefits. If you are younger than full retirement age during all of 2009, we must deduct $1 from your benefits for each $2 you earned above $14,160.

See here for details : http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10069.html