Tax Year Prior to 2020: Taxes Paid on Social Security payments that were paid back

[rer4501]

I started receiving Social Security in 2016, and then started working part time in 2017. In 2018 I was required to pay back all of my SS payments from 2017 due to making too much income while still less than full SS retirement age.

Can I take a deduction on my 2018 return for the income taxes I paid on my Social Security payments in 2017, since I had to pay them all back ?

[KarenL]

It depends on how your repayment is shown on your SSA-1099 form.  Typically, the form will show the repayment in Box 4 of the SSA-1099 and the "net" (2018 benefits minus the repayment amount for 2017) will show in Box 5.  In this case, only the Box 5 "net" amount will show on your 2018 tax return.   In this case, there is no deduction because it is included in the Box 5 amount.

If your repayments are more than your benefits for 2018, there is a worksheet in IRS Publication 915 to show you how to calculate it.  Here is a link toIRS Publication 915 .   Keep in mind this publication is for 2017 as the new 2018 publications are not yet published.