Retired/ still working in 2022, why did i pay Federal taxes?

[NCperson]

if you are retired, then how can you be 'working'???

just because you are retired doesn't automatically exempt you from paying income tax! if you earned enough money (and this would include unearned income from SS, pensions, IRA dsitributions, etc.) , then you are still liable for income tax.

[DoninGA]

Being retired does not exempt you from having to pay federal taxes.

If your total tax liability is greater than your total tax payments then you will have taxes owed.

[rjs]

. . . And if you were still working, even for only part of the year, you have to pay tax on the income you earned from working.

[xmasbaby0]

We are not sure what you mean by "retired/still working" --   are you receiving Social Security and continuing to work?   Or are you receiving some other sort of retirement income and working even part-time?   There is no age limit to paying taxes, nor does "retiring" exempt you from paying tax.   Whether you have to file a tax return or pay tax depends on your total amount of income, and the sources of the income.   

If you are receiving Social Security, this may be helpful to you:

TAX ON SOCIAL SECURITY

Up to 85% of your Social Security benefits can be taxable on your federal tax return.  There is no age limit for having to pay taxes on Social Security benefits if you have other sources of income along with the SS benefits.  When you have other income such as earnings from continuing to work, investment income, pensions, etc. up to 85% of your SS can be taxable. 

 What confuses people about this is that before you reach full retirement age, if you continue working while drawing SS, your benefits can be reduced if you earn over a certain limit. (For 2019 it was $17,640— for 2020 it was $18,240; for 2021 it was  $18,960.  For 2022 it was  $19,560  —  for 2023 $21,240)

After full retirement age, no matter how much you continue to earn, your benefits are not reduced by your earnings; your employer will still have to withhold for Social Security and Medicare.  If you work as an independent contractor then you will pay self-employment tax for Social Security and Medicare.

To see how much of your Social Security was taxable, look at lines 6a and 6b of your 2022 Form 1040

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1899144-is-my-social-security-income-taxable

https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/are-my-social-security-or-railroad-retirement-tier-i-benefits-taxable

You need to file a federal return if half your Social Security plus your other income is $25,000 when filing single or head of household, or $32,000 when filing married filing jointly, $0 if you are filing married filing separately.

Some additional information:  There are 11 states that tax Social Security—Colorado, Connecticut, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Utah, and Vermont  These states offer varying degrees of income exemptions, but two mirror the federal tax schedule: MN and VT.

[jldescognets]

Good morning, 🌻

                           My monthly Social Security payment is $1069.00.

Could you live on that? I don't think anyone can now a days.

Sincerely,

                 Jonnie ❤️

[xmasbaby0]

@jldescognets This is the user forum to answer questions about income tax returns and about using the tax software.  Sorry---this is not the place to vent about the amount of your income.   There are other social media outlets where you can do that.  You asked why you paid tax and we explained how the rules of taxation on Social Security work.