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Up to 85% of your Social Security benefits can be taxable on your federal tax return.  There is no age limit for having to pay taxes on Social Security benefits if you have other sources of income along with the SS benefits.  When you have other income such as earnings from continuing to work, investment income, pensions, etc. up to 85% of your SS can be taxable.     What confuses people about this is that before you reach full retirement age, if you continue working while drawing SS, your benefits can be reduced if you earn over a certain limit. (For 2021 it was  $18,960.  For 2022 it was  $19,560  —  for 2023 $21,240)  For 2024, $22,320.  For 2025 it will be $23,400   After full retirement age, no matter how much you continue to earn, your benefits are not reduced by your earnings; your employer will still have to withhold for Social Security and Medicare.  If you work as an independent contractor then you will pay self-employment tax for Social Security and Medicare.   To see how much of your Social Security was taxable, look at lines 6a and 6b of your 2024 Form 1040   https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/are-my-social-security-or-railroad-retirement-tier-i-benefits-taxable   You need to file a federal return if half your Social Security plus your other income is   Single or Head of Household      $25,000 Married Filing Jointly                  $32,000 Married Filing Separately            $0   Some additional information:  There are 9 states that tax Social Security—Colorado, Connecticut,, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont  and West Virginia These states offer varying degrees of income exemptions, but two mirror the federal tax schedule: MN and VT.         IF YOU WANT TO HAVE TAX WITHHELD FROM YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS   https://www.ssa.gov/manage-benefits/request-withhold-taxes https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-w-4-v      

You don’t calculate that yourself.  Turbo Tax automatically calculates the taxable amount.   Did you enter the full amount of SS?  Social Security is on 1040 line 6a and any taxable amount on 6b.   Seems odd the IRS gave you a refund.  Usually they say you didn’t report the right taxable amount and owe more tax. If you calculated it yourself where or how did you enter it?   Up to 85% of Social Security becomes taxable when all your other income plus 1/2 your social security, reaches: Married Filing Jointly: $32,000 Single or head of household: $25,000 Married Filing Separately: 0   To see the Social Security Benefits Calculation Worksheet  in Turbo Tax Online version you would have to save your return with all the worksheets to your computer.   Or if you are using the Desktop CD/Download Software you can switch to Forms Mode (click Forms in the upper right) and click on SS in the list on the left side.   Or use the IRS worksheet in the 1040 instructions page 32 https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-prior/i1040gi--2024.pdf

Lines:   6a = 47,146   6b= 40,082  ( 85% of income taxable)   Apparently the percentage of taxable income was less since I received a refund.   I am not sure what our taxable income is for our social security benefits

If you are under age 59-1/2, you will pay the regular income tax on the conversion, and a 10% penalty for early withdrawal.  If you also withdraw earnings (increase in value in the Roth) that is also subject to regular income tax plus a 10% penalty.   If you are over age 59-1/2, you pay income tax on the conversion per the normal rules, but you don't pay an additional penalty for early withdrawal.  If you withdraw earnings, and the Roth IRA has been open less than 5 years, the earnings are taxable (but without the 10% penalty). 

You do not have to calculate it if you enter your SSA1099's correctly.   The software does all of the calculations for you.    If you are filing a joint return, you need to make sure you enter each SSA1099 under the correct spouse's name.  And watch carefully for the screen that asks if you had income from a foreign country---that screen messed a lot of people up.   Check your Form 1040 and make sure that you see amounts on lines 6a and 6b.

Hello @pk  I was hoping you would look into this for me. This is greatly appreciated! Here are my answers: (a) Which country are they from and are they both resident and citizen of that country? - They are both citizens of Ukraine. I am not sure they can be considered residents of Ukraine as they have not been living there since March 2022. They visit Ukraine once in a while but do not stay there for more than a couple of weeks per year. (b) When did they enter the US with J visa  and exact date when they left the UJSA ?  - They have entered the US with J visas in January 2023. Since then they have stayed in the US for the majority of time, however they had a few short trips abroad. These trips combined do not change the fact that they have met substantial presence test in the US in 2025. They have left the US on September 14th 2025. (c) Did they file any forms with the IRS  or Immigration stating that they are leaving the US  or was it just their employment/research visa terminated ? - They have not filed anything with the IRS or Immigration except for 1040 NR for tax years 2023 and 2024. The reason for leaving the US in Sep 2025 was due to the end of the employment/research visa. (d) Should I assume that their ONLY financial connection to US post departure is passive income -- bank interest ?  Or is there more  and substantial connection ?  - There is no other connection except bank interest and a 401k.  Generally , I would try return with two different scenario ( assuming there are no other contravening  facts :( 1.  AS a dual status  --- Jan 01 2025 through Sept. 30th Sept -- Resident and being taxed on world income, itemized deduction and  1040-NR for  earnings ( US sourced ONLY ) for the last quarter of the year 2025 2. AS a resident for the whole year, form 1040, taxed on world income, standard deduction and allowing foreign earnings to be taxed by the USA, foreign tax credit  for the taxes paid to home country.  This is assuming that there is  no contravening facts . - The second scenario is preferable if allowed by regulations since it not only allows for standard deduction but also for filing jointly. Since my father has no income it can make a big difference. Best, Illia

If you move a stock from your IRA to a regular investment account, your basis is the value on which you were taxed when you took the stocks out of the IRA.  You have a taxable gain if you sell the stocks for more than your basis, and you have a loss if you sell for less than your basis, and gains and losses are taxed according to the usual rules for capital gains and losses.     In other words, if you withdraw 10 shares at $100 per share, you should get a 1099-R showing a $1000 distribution.  That is your basis in the stocks.  If you later sell for $110 per share, you have a $100 taxable gain, but the entire $1100 is not taxed, just the gain. 

The amount of Social Security retirement benefits is based on Lifetime earnings and your age at retirement.   Regarding lifetime earnings, the highest 35 years are used to calculate average monthly earnings. Each year is indexed for inflation to approximate what earnings for that year would be in today’s dollars. There is also a maximum amount of earnings each year that are subject to Social Security tax for that year. If you have worked for fewer than 35 years, the Social Security Administration (SSA) fills in the missing years with zeros, which significantly lowers your average benefit. If you have worked for 35 or more years, the SSA uses your actual highest-earning years. The Social Security Administration will calculate the impact your current income has on your social security benefits. This process happens automatically every year that you have new earnings reported.  You should receive a letter from the Social Security Administration and possibly retroactive benefit owed once the Social Security Administration has processed your tax records.   The Social Security Administration website has a wealth of information regarding benefits, so I would encourage you to take a look at information there if you wanted more details. You can find their website at SSA Website 

A non-qualified Roth distribution - because you didn't meet the 5-year rule - would cause any earnings withdrawn as part of the distribution to be taxed at your ordinary income tax rate.  If you are over 59 1/2, there is no penalty.     Money contributed to a Roth is always taxed prior to the contribution and can be withdrawn tax free. You pay income tax on the money, then put the net amount into the Roth IRA. (No tax deduction is taken).  You convert pre-tax dollars into the Roth IRA, which creates a taxable event for that year, where the converted amount is added to your income and taxed.   Please take a few moments to read this great article.   Hope this helps! Cindy

Short answer: yes.  However the calculation is inflation-adjusted.  So $50K of salary in 2024 will not necessarily replace $25K of salary from 1984.  But if you have zeroes in your top 35 earning years, your current earnings should replace one of those zeroes and result in a benefit recalculation.  Contact the SS administration for more details about your benefits. 

Once you hit age 59-1/2 (and your Roth IRA is more than 5 yers old), there is no need to track the source of your Roth IRA funds as coming from contributions, conversions or earnings.  All withdrawals from a Roth IRA are tax-free regardless of the source of the money.   (If you do want to keep track, you do that yourself, it is not part of any tax form and does not get reported to the IRS.  For someone under age 59-1/2, if they claim a withdrawal is tax-free because it is contributions, it is up to the taxpayer to prove it from their records if audited.)

Lots of users made a mistake after entering their SS benefits.   The next screen asks if you had income in a foreign country.   If you answered incorrectly or skipped the screen, your taxable SS did not go to line 6b on your Form 1040, which caused a problem.  If the IRS already corrected the problem, you just need to pay the additional amount of tax due.    Look at your Form 1040.   SS income is on line 6a.  The taxable amount should be on 6b.   Is 6b blank?

The tax rate on Section 1256 contracts is 60% is taxed as long-term capital gains 40% is taxed as short-term capital gains For non-Section 1256 contracts the tax rate is determined by the length of the holding period.   IRS Publication 550 goes into detail of what is considered a Section 1256 contract.  Please note that the Market to Market rules are different and Section 1256 contracts will be reported on a Form 6781    

The Social Security Administration (SSA) automatically reviews your earnings record each year to determine if your new earnings could increase your monthly Social Security benefit. If your earnings from working at age 74 are among your 35 highest-earning years, the SSA will recalculate your benefit amount and increase it accordingly. This adjustment is automatic and does not require any action on your part. Taxation of Social Security Benefits While Working Since you are working while receiving Social Security, there is a possibility that a portion of your benefits could be taxed, depending on your combined income. The IRS defines combined income as the sum of: Your adjusted gross income (AGI), Non-taxable interest, and Half of your Social Security benefits. For the 2025 tax year, the following thresholds apply: Individual Filers: If your combined income is between $25,000 and $34,000, up to 50% of your benefits may be taxable. If your combined income is above $34,000, up to 85% of your benefits may be taxable. Married Couples Filing Jointly: If your combined income is between $32,000 and $44,000, up to 50% of your benefits may be taxable. If your combined income is above $44,000, up to 85% of your benefits may be taxable. It’s important to note that no more than 85% of your benefits will ever be subject to taxation. By continuing to work, you not only have the potential for increasing your future monthly Social Security benefit, but you should also monitor your income levels because they may affect how much of your benefits will be taxable.   @Rnininger  Thanks for the question! **Say “Thanks” by clicking the thumb icon in the post **Mark the post that answers your questions by clicking on “Mark as Best Answer”

Current tax rules are clear that you cannot convert the Required Minimum Distributions (RMD) from an IRA into a Roth IRA; however, with that being said, you can convert any remaining funds in your traditional IRA to a Roth IRA after you have taken the RMD amount for the year.  As an example, if your RMD for 2025 is $5,000, then you must take a distribution of at least $5,000, and you cannot convert any portion of that $5,000 to a Roth IRA.  But, you can choose to take a distribution of more than $5,000, and the amount that exceeds $5,000 can be converted to a Roth IRA.   Based on your age and the fact that you have had a Roth IRA for over 5 years, there is no need to keep track of your basis in the Roth IRA, as any distributions from your Roth IRA will be tax free to you - both return of contributions as well as all the earnings. If you were taking Roth distributions before age 59 1/2, OR if you were taking Roth distributions and you did not have a Roth account for at least 5 years, then your basis in the Roth would be important, as any portion of a distribution that represented earnings would be considered taxable to you under either of those 2 situations.  As such, the short answer for your situation is that you do not need to report your Roth basis in TurboTax for 2025.   I do want you to double check the 2023 return and make sure the basis number reported on it was the basis in your Roth IRA, and NOT the basis in your Traditional IRA. If this $12,485 represents your basis in your Traditional IRA, that number represents your after-tax contributions to your Traditional IRA, and yes, you would want to make sure you report that on your tax returns (I would recommend you amend your 2024 return if this is the situation). When you have after-tax contributions in your Traditional IRA ("basis"), then that means every time you take a distribution from the Traditional IRA, a part of the distribution is a return of your basis and would be tax free.  In my example above, if you had basis in the Traditional IRA, then when you took the $5,000 RMD distribution, an amount less than $5,000 would be the taxable portion of that distribution, instead of the entire amount.  The calculation of the taxable portion of Traditional IRA distributions when you have basis in the account is calcuated on IRS Form 8606, and is determined by the amount of your basis remaining in the account, and the value of all your Traditional IRA accounts as of the last day of the year.   I hope the above answers all your questions - have a great rest of your day!