topic Thanks, this was very helpful! in Retirement tax questions

How is tax on social security benefits calculated?

franko15 — Fri, 07 Jun 2019 23:17:56 GMT

My wife earned about $36,000 in 2017, and my Social security benefits were roughly $24,000, for a gross income of $60,000 (married filing jointly). It is perplexing to see how much tax I still have to pay, especially on my social security benefits. How do they calculate this figure?

Up to 85% of Social Security Retirement/Disability/Surviv...

DoninGA — Fri, 07 Jun 2019 23:17:58 GMT

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

So, if my combined income is $48,761, this is $16,761 mor...

franko15 — Fri, 07 Jun 2019 23:17:59 GMT

So, if my combined income is $48,761, this is $16,761 more than the base amount of $32,000. How is tax calculated on this amount? Is it 6%, 7%, or something else?

Since you are using the TurboTax desktop editions, click...

DoninGA — Fri, 07 Jun 2019 23:18:01 GMT

Since you are using the TurboTax desktop editions, click on Forms in the upper right of the desktop program screen.
In Forms mode, on the left side of the screen, click on Social Sec to open the Social Security Benefits Worksheet. The calculations will be shown on the worksheet.

Thanks, this was very helpful!

franko15 — Fri, 07 Jun 2019 23:18:03 GMT

Thanks, this was very helpful!