Do I need to pay quarterly taxes if I receive $2500 in Social Security monthly plus $15000 in interest income yearly?

 
Hal_Al
Level 15

Get your taxes done using TurboTax

Simple answer: No.

A  small portion of  your social security (SS) will be taxable, but not not enough to trigger an underpayment penalty. You can wait to pay at tax time.

Social security only becomes taxable when added to sufficient other income. If you are otherwise required to file a tax return, you do need to enter it in Turbotax (TT). TT will determine the taxable portion.

Social security (including SSDI) becomes taxable when your income, including 1/2 your social security, reaches:

Married Filing Jointly(MFJ): $32,000

Single or head of household: $25,000

Married Filing Separately and lived with your spouse at any time during the tax year: $0

After TurboTax (TT) calculates the taxable portion of SS, it puts the total amount of SS on line 5a of form 1040 and the taxable amount on line 5b (lines 20a & 20b in 2017). TT also produces a worksheet  to show how the taxable amount is calculated. 

How much  is "sufficient other income"? The simple answer is $12,000 (a single person's filing requirement). But the answer varies dependent on marital status, filing status, age, the amount of your Social security, and whether you are claimed as a dependent by someone else.

When TT prints out your return, it will provide you with the  IRS social security worksheet showing you how the taxable amount was calculated.  Here’s a copy showing you how the calculation is done:

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-prior/i1040gi--2018.pdf#page=33 (2018)

http://apps.irs.gov/app/vita/content/globalmedia/social_security_benefits_worksheet_1040i.pdf (2017)

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