Whether or not your
Social Security income is taxable depends on your total income, including your
Social Security plus any other income. Generally speaking, if your only income
is Social Security, you probably don't make enough money to be required to file
a federal tax return.
For those with
additional sources of income, the key figure is the Modified Adjusted Gross
Income (MAGI). The MAGI includes half of your Social Security, plus other
sources of income. Once your MAGI exceeds the base amount for your filing
status ($32,000 for Married Filing Jointly, otherwise $25,000), at least part
of your Social Security income becomes taxable. The taxable portion of your
Social Security income increases once you reach additional MAGI thresholds.
To determine if your
Social Security income is taxable, all
you need to do is enter that income. See "Where
do I enter an SSA-1099, SSA-1099-SM, or SSA-1099-R-OP1?" TurboTax does the rest!
At the state level,
many states exempt Social Security from taxation, either partially or
completely. Again, if your sole income is from Social Security, it's likely you
don't need to file a state return either.
TurboTax will
automatically figure out whether you need to pay federal and/or state taxes on
your Social Security income. Just enter your SSA-1099 information in TurboTax
and we’ll let you know!
