With Social Security of under $17,000 and other taxable interest, etc of under $20,000 why was $1484 of Social security taxable?

[jwrentschler]

With Social Security of under $17,000 and other taxable interest, etc of under $20,000 why was $1484 of Social security taxable?

[Hal_Al · Accepted solution]

That sounds about right.

Social security only becomes  taxable when added to sufficient other income. If you are otherwise required to file a tax return, you do need to enter it in Turbotax (TT). TT will determine the taxable portion.

Social security (including SSDI) becomes taxable when your income, including 1/2 your social security, reaches:

Married Filing Jointly(MFJ): $32,000

Single or head of household: $25,000

Married Filing Separately and lived with your spouse at any time during the tax year: $0

After TurboTax (TT) calculates the taxable portion of SS, it puts the total amount of SS on line 20a of form 1040 and the taxable amount on line 20b (lines 14a&b of form 1040A). TT also produces a worksheet (https://www.ssa.gov/planners/taxes.html)

 to show how the taxable amount is calculated. Although most people pay tax on 85% of their SS. it can be less for lower income taxpayers.

How much  is "sufficient other income"? The simple answer is $10,300 (a single person's filing requirement). But the answer varies dependent on marital status, filing status, age, the amount of your Social security, and whether you are claimed as a dependent by someone else.