I had to pay back social security can i claim the payment on taxes

[Heather_Billings · Accepted solution]

Yes - you can claim a repayment of social security benefits.  The way repayment is claimed depends in which year income was repaid and how much the repayment was.

If you repay income in the same year(such as Social Security benefits) you can net the repayment amount against the amount reportable as income.

A taxpayer who repays an amount that was reported as income in an earlier year may claim a tax deduction or tax credit for the repayment in the year the income is repaid.

If amount of the repayment is:
 
$3,000 or Less. Claim a miscellaneous itemized deduction on Schedule A (subject to the 2%-of-AGI limitation). If the taxpayer does not itemize, the tax benefit is lost." The data entry is located in the Deductions/Credits section.

Repayment over $3,000. If the amount you repaid was more than $3,000, you can deduct the repayment (as explained under Type of deduction , earlier). However, you can choose  to deduct it as a deduction or a credit. You may choose the method that benefits you most.

[poms55chevy]

I have all the papers and payment reciept, since 2010-2013 totalling $9910.00 how do i file this info...you are the only people that told me i could claim this...thank you dave h

[Buster3]

When is the repayment considered effective? The date on the repayment check?

[Hal_Al]

@Buster3  No; it's the day you mailed the check. 

[ljuba1701]

Just to clarify:

I repaid my social security benefits the same year I got them (this tax year, 2019), so based on your instructions, I should deduct the amount ($3,114) from my reported income. The only way I can see to do that is to simply not report the Social Security as income at all. Is this correct? 

Thanks!

[Hal_Al]

@ljuba1701 

No.  You must report the amount shown on the form SSA-1099 as income.  If you paid it back in the same year, the amount in box 5 should already reflect the repayment.  Otherwise you have to use the repayment procedure described above. 

[jjoelwiley]

Hi! I have an ssa repayment of >$3000 in 2021. Can I deduct/get a credit even if I take the standard deduction?

thanks in advance!

[JohnW152]

Most likely.  When you’ve had to repay more than $3,000 that you had included in your income in a prior year, you may be able to deduct the amount, or take a credit against your tax, in the year you repaid the income.  See Repayments in Publication 525, Taxable and Nontaxable Income for more information.

To enter your repayment information in TurboTax Online:

1. If you’re on the Hi TurboTax Client, let's keep working on your taxes! screen, click the Pick up where you left off button
2. Click Federal in the left pane, if you’re not already there
3. Click Deductions & Credits in the banner
4. Scroll down and click Show more to the right of Other Deductions and Credits
5. Click Start to the right of Other Deductible Expenses
6. Proceed through the screens until you get to the Did you have any of these less common expenses? screen.  If your repayment amount was $3,000 or less, answer Yes.  Otherwise, answer No.
7. On the next screen, Did you have any of these other expenses?, answer Yes if your repayment amount was over $3,000.
8. Report your repayment amount in the Claim of right repayment over $3,000 box, then select Continue at the bottom of the screen.

[jjoelwiley]

Thank you. Based on your response It sounds/looks  like I can’t deduct the amount (approx $3,400 in ssa repayments) without itemizing. Bummer. 

[doreenadg1]

I have been paying back social security since 2009. I Just recently found out that I can claim my repayments on my taxes. Am I allowed to file for the years that I was unaware of this? So since 2009, I have been paying 200 a month towards the overall amount.  So it would be 2,400 a year, under the 3,000 mark for a year, but over if I can claim previous years of payment.  Any help answering this question would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[DianeW777]

No, you would receive no benefit if you amend your returns for prior years.  The statue of limitations to receive any additional refund in almost all cases is three years after the filing date or two years after the final tax payment was made, whichever is later.

All years 2009-2018 have expired.  You can always amend but you will not be refunded any money even if you show an additional refund amount.

• What is the deadline for filing an amended return?

If you had itemized deductions in years 2009-2016 then you may have had a benefit by adding this to your tax return.  Only the amount that exceeded 2% of your adjusted gross income (AGI) in those years would have been included with other itemized deductions.

If you pay over $3,000 in any tax year you have other options to choose.  You can use a deduction on itemized deductions without any limitation or take credit on your return.  If you decide to do that in 2022 you can post a question to see how to handle it.  It is called a 'claim of right' deduction or credit.

@doreenadg1

[Hal_Al]

Q.  Am I allowed to file for the years that I was unaware of this, going back to 2009?

A.  No. 

There is a three year limit for filing an amended return, to claim a refund. 

Furthermore, the pay back amount is per year, so the $3000 limit applies.

The tax deduction, or credit, only applies if you paid income tax on those SS payments, in the past. And then, only on the amount that was taxed. 

This is an old thread. The itemized deduction, subject to the 2% AGI limit, for repayments under $3000 is no longer allowed. 

[hmg1993]

Hi,

I was overpaid by Social Security for years 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017.  This year (2022) I had to repay $34567.00.    Also, I had to pay additional taxes for those years of a bit over $5000 in 2022).  How will this affect my taxes and what process/forms will I need to be using.

Thanks so much for you help

[dbtaxsolutions]

The original post says "as explained under type of deductions" ? where is this? where was it explained? how do i decide to claim it as credit? Where can I put it as credit instead of itemized? thank you for clarifying.