You can annualize your income to avoid under-payment penalties, but that will only change your penalty amount, not how much of your social security that is taxed. The actual tax calculations are for the full year and depend on your total income. Underpayment penalties are assessed if you don't withhold or pay enough tax on income received during each quarter.
For those with additional sources of income, not just social security) the key figure is the Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI). The MAGI includes half of your Social Security, plus other sources of income. Once your MAGI exceeds the base amount for your filing status ($32,000 for Married Filing Jointly, otherwise $25,000), at least part of your Social Security income becomes taxable. The taxable portion of your Social Security income increases once you reach additional MAGI thresholds and maxes out at 85%.
You would think that when you finally retire and start collecting Social Security that you no longer have to pay income tax. But this isn't always true. Watch this video to find out more about income taxes for those on Social Security. There is an example in the article attached as well.
If you want to calculate estimated tax payments for 2022, see the instructions here.
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