Apologies if I was unclear. Starting in Sept 2019 I began receiving a tax free LTD benefit from my private insurance carrier (not SSI) as offered by my employer - the reason it was tax free is that I was paying the premium, which changes the character of the income from ordinary income to a tax free annuity. As with most LTD policies, one is required by the policy to apply for SSI insurance, and if successful, the amount awarded represents a reduction in the total owed by the private carrier retroactively and prospectively. The SSI case was not adjudicated until 2022 (successfully), which resulted in the SSI lump sum for all of the months starting September 2019. The rub is that the benefit I'd been receiving through my private carrier was tax free, whereas the SSI payment is not. So the question is whether or not the "repayment" (i.e., money I received from SSI that corresponded to prior payments in 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022 that I was required to send to my private carrier) provide tax relief, or do I need to fall on the grenade for the full lump sum amount of SSI received in 2022. I realize one can allocate the SSI lump to prior years as outlined in the tax form I've received (i.e., recognize 2022 SSI payments in 2022 filing, and portion of the SSI lump that corresponded to prior years to prior years), but not sure if the fact that I had to send the "repayment" to my insurance carrier provides any avenue for tax relief. Hopefully I've not made matters more confusing!! Thanks for you prompt reply.
