If I had no social security taxes withheld because I'm a teacher how does turbo tax account for this?

[DoninGA]

Enter your W-2 as received.  

Social Security taxes withheld are not entered on a tax return.

[xmasbaby0]

You just do not enter anything from the blank boxes on your W-2.   TurboTax and the IRS are well aware that many teachers do not pay in to Social Security because they pay into a teachers retirement system instead.  The amount that was withheld from your pay will usually be in box 12 of your W-2 and you will enter it from your W-2.

Teachers and Social Security

There are 15 states (AK, CA, CO, CT, IL, LA, MA, ME, MO, NV, OH, TX) in which teachers do not pay in to Social Security, so you will not see Social Security withheld on the teacher’s W-2.  Instead, teachers in those states pay in to a Teacher’s Retirement System, which will show up elsewhere on the W-2 often in box 12 or box 14.

There are three states which have varying degrees of participation in SS for teachers, depending on school districts—GA, KY, and RI.

[ekeadle]

• I had no SS taken out of my teacher salary for about 8 years of my teaching career.  Off the top of my head it was from around 1982 to 1989 or longer.  Am I to recieve a higher amount of Secial Security now at 77years old?

[VolvoGirl]

Since you didn’t have Social Security taken out you didn’t pay into the system.   Only Social Security can tell you how much you qualify to receive.   You can log into your SS account and see if you have any benefits.  Did you start getting any at 65?   You probably should have received statements each year from Social Security.  

[xmasbaby0]

@ekeadle Many teachers do not pay in to Social Security because they pay in to a Teachers Retirement System retirement plan instead.   You have not mentioned what state you taught in.   Did you pay in to TRS there?   Are you receiving your teacher pension?   There has recently been a change, and teachers (and some others) who paid in to Social Security and in to TRS are now receiving a higher amount of Social Security thanks to the Social Security Fairness Act that passed in 2024.  But we do not know any of your details, so we cannot say if any of that applies to your situation.