Thanks for your follow up questions, my apologies for the typing error in my original post. Of course it doesn’t make sense the more your combined income is the less you are taxed on it! The asterisk (*) should have been an “8”. Again, apologies for my error!
Regarding “how does Married Filing Jointly affect the additional SS income”, I will answer this with two different assumptions:
- I will assume you are talking about your deceased spouse’s SS benefits.
- I will assume you are talking about SSI (Supplemental Security Income)
1.
Your social security benefits and those of your spouse will be entered on your tax return as SS benefits. You will enter any other income you received during the year including self-employment, gig work, any work you got paid for, and investment income.
As Married Filing Jointly, in 2024 the standard deduction is $29,200 for a married couple filing jointly. There is an additional standard deduction for the elderly or blind.
You will pay tax if you have significant income (meaning you have a job, are self-employed, gambling winnings, etc.) in addition to your SS benefits.
The tax will be calculated based on the tax tables for your filing status. If you and your spouse receive Social Security, there is no special way to handle computing the tax liability.
2.
SSI is a benefit paid monthly to people with limited income and resources who are blind, age 65 or older, or have a qualifying disability. Since these funds are administered by the Social Security Administration, and not the IRS, I am including links to Social Security information that may apply to you.
I found the following information on the SSA.gov site regarding SSI benefits:
HOW DOES YOUR INCOME AFFECT YOUR SSI BENEFIT?
Step 1: We subtract any income that we do not count from your total gross income. The remaining amount is your "countable income."
Step 2: We subtract your "countable income" from the SSI Federal benefit rate. The result is your monthly SSI Federal benefit as follows:
1) Your Total Income
- Your income that we do not count
= Your countable income
2) SSI Federal benefit rate
- Your countable income
= Your SSI Federal benefit
If you click on the link, there are examples for different situations (e.g. SSI Fed benefit with only earned income, SSI Fed benefit and State supplement with only unearned income) that may further your understanding of how your SSI is calculated (looks a bit tricky!)
If I did not answer your question above and you do not find the answer to your question in the SSA’s literature, I strongly suggest contacting them directly. (SSA contact link) Although the SSA and IRS are both government agencies, they act independently. We’re always able to answer IRS Tax related questions.
SSA - Receiving Benefits While Working
SSA - What happens if I work and get Social Security retirement benefits?
SSA – Retirement Earnings Test Calculator
SSI – Frequently Asked Questions
SSI – Will my income affect my SSI payments?
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