Taxing social security income

[Denise99]

If I only have social security as my income and my husbands, even if it’s near $100,000, is it taxable?  I’ve been told it is not taxable. 

if not, how much taxable income can I have before my social security is taxable?

[VolvoGirl]

Will you or him have any other income?  Your Social Security will be 100,000?  If you only have SS it is not taxable and you don't need to file a return.  

Up to 85% of Social Security becomes taxable when all your other income plus 1/2 your social security, reaches:

Married Filing Jointly: $32,000

Single or head of household: $25,000

Married Filing Separately: 0

To see the Social Security Benefits Calculation Worksheet  in Turbo Tax Online version you would have to save your return with all the worksheets to your computer.   Or if you are using the Desktop CD/Download Software you can switch to Forms Mode (click Forms in the upper right) and click on SS in the list on the left side.

Is your Social Security taxable?

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/income/help/is-my-social-security-income-taxable/00/25600

IRS Pub. 915 on Social Security.  There is a blank worksheet on page 16

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p915.pdf

The taxable amount of Social Security is a range.

For Single between $25,000 and $34,000, you may have to pay income tax on up to 50 percent of your benefits.  For more than $34,000, up to 85 percent of your benefits may be taxable.

For Joint between $32,000 and $44,000, you may have to pay income tax on up to 50 percent of your benefits.  For more than $44,000, up to 85 percent of your benefits may be taxable.

See,

Benefits Planner | Income Taxes And Your Social Security Benefit | SSA

[xmasbaby0]

If your ONLY income is Social Security you do not have to file a tax return.   If you have any other kinds of income then you may need to file, and the SS could be taxable.

TAX ON SOCIAL SECURITY

Up to 85% of your Social Security benefits can be taxable on your federal tax return.  There is no age limit for having to pay taxes on Social Security benefits if you have other sources of income along with the SS benefits.  When you have other income such as earnings from continuing to work, investment income, pensions, etc. up to 85% of your SS can be taxable. 

 What confuses people about this is that before you reach full retirement age, if you continue working while drawing SS, your benefits can be reduced if you earn over a certain limit. (For 2019 it was $17,640— for 2020 it was $18,240; for 2021 it was  $18,960.  For 2022 it was  $19,560  —  for 2023 $21,240

After full retirement age, no matter how much you continue to earn, your benefits are not reduced by your earnings; your employer will still have to withhold for Social Security and Medicare.

To see how much of your Social Security was taxable, look at lines 6a and 6b of your 2021 Form 1040

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1899144-is-my-social-security-income-taxable

https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/are-my-social-security-or-railroad-retirement-tier-i-benefits-taxable

You need to file a federal return if half your Social Security plus your other income is $25,000 when filing single or head of household, or $32,000 when filing married filing jointly, $0 if you are filing married filing separately.

Some additional information:  There are 13 states that tax Social Security—Colorado, Connecticut, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, and West Virginia.  These states offer varying degrees of income exemptions, but four mirror the federal tax schedule: MN, ND,VT, and WV

Who has to file?

http://www.irs.gov/uac/Do-I-Need-to-File-a-Tax-Return%3F

[R-SchuleCPA]

Do I pay Social Security tax or income tax on my Social Security benefit payments?

If you earn between $25,000 and $34,000 per year as a single filer (or $32,000 to $44,000 if you’re married filing jointly), you will pay income taxes on up to 50% of your Social Security benefits. If you earn more than $34,000 (or $44,000 if you’re married filing jointly), you’ll pay taxes on up to 85% of your benefits. You will never be taxed on more than 85% of your Social Security benefits.

Remember, with TurboTax, we'll ask you simple questions about your life and help you fill out all the right tax forms. With TurboTax you can be confident your taxes are done right, from simple to complex tax returns, no matter what your situation.

[JandKit]

Hi  Denise99,

Thank you for this question. Social Security is now means tested. The idea of means-testing is to ensure that Social Security benefits are going to people who really need them, which is how the program was designed in the mid-1930s. In a nut shell, If your income exceeds a certain amount, up to 85% of your social security can be taxed.

One half of your social security plus other taxable income must exceed $34,000. befor the income is subject to taxation. In your particular case, Income near $100K, 85% of the social security will be subject to taxes

Please see IRS Pub 915 page 15 
https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/taxes.html

[Denise99]

Thank you - it’s very confusing since half of our social security amount is already over the limit

what I’m reading is if we make any amount - even $5000 - we’d then have to pay taxes on at least part of our social security. 

[Denise99]

Is social security considered earned income?  

[VolvoGirl]

No.  It does not qualify you for credits.