Why did my social security taxable amount go up when I made the same as last year?

[ron_ohannessian]

I did receive $700.00 more in ss benefits over last year, but why did my taxable amount go up by $4000.00 from last year?

[ThomasM125]

The taxable amount of your social security income is dependent on your total income and filing status. So, there may have been other things that changed on your tax return to affect the taxable amount of your social security benefits.

[SteamTrain]

Also...if you had more "Tax-exempt" income from Municipal bonds this year...those $$$ do add into your total income calculation that affects the % of SS that is taxed.

[Critter-3]

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 2017 that limit is $16,920 —for 2018 it will be $17,040)  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.

To see how much of your Social Security was taxable, look at line 14b of your 1040A, or line 20b of your 1040

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

https://ttlc.intuit.com/replies/6977833

[Hazyes]

The amounts changed very little last year 6a was 50148.00 taxable 10,259. this year its all taxable. I paid 96.00 last year and 648.00 this year

[DoninGA]

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@Hazyes wrote:

The amounts changed very little last year 6a was 50148.00 taxable 10,259. this year its all taxable. I paid 96.00 last year and 648.00 this year

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No, the Social Security benefits reported in Box 6a on the Form 1040 are not all taxable on Line 6b.

Up to 85% of Social Security Retirement/Disability/Survivors benefits 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

Look at your tax return.

Using the online editions -

You can view your Form 1040 at any time using the online editions. Click on Tax Tools on the left side of the online program screen. Click on Tools. Click on View Tax Summary. Click on Preview my 1040 on the left side of the screen.

[lkberns]

I am doing the taxes for my 85-year old widowed neighbor.  She has a pension, Social Security, and income from a mutual fund.  The only major difference between 2020 and 2021 was that she received about $15,000 more in capital gains from the mutual fund in 2021.  However, the percentage of her taxable Social Security went from 18.4% in 2020 to 84.8% in 2021 and her total income increased by about $16,000.  How do I explain this to her because, of course, her taxes went up significantly?  Thank you for your help.

[JohnB5677]

This is possibly a triple hit on her taxes.  

• First, she was taxed on the $15,000 capital gain (I'm expecting long term), (often there are no taxes withheld on Capital Gains).  
• Then because of that added income, she was taxed on almost the full 85% of Social Security, (which probably had little or nothing withheld)
• Finally, the extra taxable income may have pushed her from the 10% tax bracket to the 12% bracket.