First year of receiving social security retirement is taxed differently than a full year. Why did Turbo Tax list 50% of my social security as taxable? No earned income.

[wtr3of4]

Per SS pamphlet.  "For the earnings
limits, we don’t count income such as
other government benefits, investment
earnings, interest, pensions, annuities,
and capital gains. "

[VolvoGirl]

There are 2 different things to know about social security. People get them mixed up all the time.

1. Your actual SS checks

If you are over full retirement age your actual ss checks won't be reduced. Otherwise they will actually reduce your payments if you make too much other income in the prior year. See SS FAQ for working after retirement

https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/whileworking.html

2. Income Tax

For any age 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

[SweetieJean]

KA-01927?msclkid=11bc282ccf2211ecb65078152b05ae6b · Customer Self-Service (ssa.gov)

[rjs]

The special rule for the first year has nothing to do with income tax. The special rule affects whether or not your Social Security benefits are reduced because of your other income. It does not affect how much of your Social Security income is taxable.

The percentage of your Social Security income that is taxable depends on your total Social Security income for the year and your total other income. The calculation for the first year is the same as for any other year.

The sentence that you quoted from the Social Security pamphlet is about the "earnings limits." The earnings limit is how much you can earn without having your benefits reduced. The sentence in the pamphlet is not about income tax.