Do you report spouses social security income on joint tax returns

[VolvoGirl · Accepted solution]

Yes.  You must report all income for the both of you.

Enter a SSA-1099, SSA-1099-SM or RRB-1099  under

Federal Taxes on the left side or top

Wages and Income

Then scroll down to Retirement Plans and Social Security

Then the second line - Social Security (SSA-1099. RRB-1099) - click the Start or Revisit  button

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

[Hal_Al]

Q. Do you report spouses social security income on joint tax returns?

A. Yes.

Social security (SS)  only becomes taxable when added to sufficient other income. If you are otherwise required to file a tax return, you do need to enter it in Turbotax (TT). TT will determine the taxable portion.

You may be thinking that  filing Married Filing Separately (MFS) might save you money, because you won't have to add your spouse’s SS income to your return. That thinking is usually wrong. There is a special rule that says SS becomes taxable at zero ($0) other income when Filing as MFS. The doubled standard deduction will usually wipe out most of the spouse’s income, on a joint return. And you will still get the use the lower joint filing rates.

Before making a decision to file as MFS, you should run test returns and compare. You can use this tool: https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/calculators/taxcaster/?s=1