I'm in an unusual tax situation this year. I retired, started Social Security Payments, and sold my home (of 25 years) for a very large one-time gain that greatly exceeds the $500,000 residence gains exclusion. The OBBB legislation increased the SALT deduction cap (a great benefit to me), but also created a "SALT Torpedo" that excludes high MAGI filers. My home profit + social security benefits put me over the MAGI limit, causing me to lose much of the new SALT deduction. This legislation was enacted after I had already enrolled in Social Security, and had I known it was coming I would have delayed enrolling until 2026 , when my AGI will be MUCH lower.
I now realize that I have the option of filing form SSA-521 to withdraw my Social Security application, and it can be retroactive ("wipe the slate clean") if I pay SSA back all the money they paid me. Removing SSA benefits from my 2025 income would reduce my MAGI enough to avoid the "SALT Torpedo", but I assume that I must pay back the SSA benefits before the end of the year, otherwise the benefits would appear on my SSA-1099 and be subject to tax, pushing me over the SALT Torpedo threshold. (Correct me if I'm wrong about that.)
Today is December 11, 2025. Is there any chance that I could get SSA-521 processed quickly enough to pay back the money before December 31 of this year? Could I just send the check along with Form SSA-521, or do I need to wait to receive their notice of acceptance (which would probably come too late in 2026)?
I have a call in to SSA to ask about this, but wait time is over 180 minutes, and I fear I could lose valuable days waiting for their callback.
