My only income is social security but I own a home where I pay interest and mortgage insurance. Should I file taxes?

[DianeW]

It's likely there will be no tax liability since social security is your only income.  In that case you would receive no benefit by using your mortgage interest and property taxes.  

The social security income is used in combination with your other income to make that determination.  Income such as interest from savings, dividends, capital gains/losses, etc.

If the first threshold of $25,000 for single ($32,000 for married filing joint), is met then some of your social security benefits will be taxed. The amount of other income plus half of your social security benefits are combined to determine exactly how much of it is taxed, but never more than 85%. 

TurboTax will do all the calculations and determine if any of your benefits are taxable.  The filing requirement chart is attached for you to review if you choose.

You can go directly to the area to review your entry by following these steps.

1. Sign into your account and select your current return.

2. Select  My Account on the top right and then select Tools

3. Select Topic Search (see attached image)

4. Search for ssa1099 and select Go

5. Follow the interview to enter or review your entry for these benefits.

[byang002]

My son also lives with me and helps pay for the bills. If he claims me, then can he also claim the mortgage interest, PMI, & property taxes which is under my name?

[DianeW]

No, he must be liable for the home loan and own the property as his home to deduct those expenses.

[byang002]

Thank you TurboTaxDianeW for the answers.

[DianeW]

You're Welcome!

[kittieou812]

My ex husband and I own the house. The bill is in his name and I am on the deed. His only income is Social Security Dissability and cannot claim the Mortgage Interest paid, I pay the mortgage every month and have a solid income. Can I claim the Mortgage Interest on my Income taxes?

[DianeW]

@kittieou812 - It's best to post your question so that you can track your own answer. Simply click this link: <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://ttlc.intuit.com/">https://ttlc.intuit.com/</a>

[Halfpint11]

Help

[Cynthiad66]

No.  However, if you live on Social Security benefits alone, you don't include this in gross income. If this is the only income you receive, then your gross income equals zero, and you don't have to file a federal income tax return.

However, if for some reason you had Federal withholdings taken out of your social security, they you should file to get that back.

[ydmxr09]

My only income is social security but I own a home and pay property taxes and have mortgage interest. Do I need to file.

[DoninGA]

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@ydmxr09 wrote:

My only income is social security but I own a home and pay property taxes and have mortgage interest. Do I need to file.

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The property taxes paid and mortgage interest paid are itemized deductions but are not a factor if your Only income reported on your tax return is from Social Security benefits.

If the Social Security benefits are the Only income to be reported on the tax return, then there is no reason or need to file a tax return.

[rosaaaguirrer]

@DoninGA My in-laws both get social security as their only income and pay interest, property taxes, and mortgage insurance. Is there a max amount they can both get before it is taxable? Just want to make sure they do not have to file taxes anymore. 

(they used to file jointly and stopped filing taxes in 2016)

Thanks in advance. 

[xmasbaby0]

@rosaaaguirrer If your inlaws only income is Social Security they do not have to file a tax return--unless they are having tax withheld from the SS, then they can file to receive a refund of the tax withheld.

Although they own a home and pay property tax etc, they should not expect to get a refund for home ownership.   If they have not paid any tax there is nothing from which to get a refund.

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 was $16,920 —for 2018 it was $17,040—for 2019 it was $17,640— for 2020 it is $18,240; for 2021 it is $18,960)  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 lines 6a and 6b of your 2020 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 13 states that tax Social Security—Colorado, Connecticut, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, and West Virginia.  These states offer varying degrees of income exemptions, but four mirror the federal tax schedule: MN, ND,VT, and WV

[Hal_Al]

Q. Is there a max amount they can both get before it is taxable?

A. Yes. Theoretically, if they were both getting the maximum amount (currently $3113/Month*) or near the maximum amount, they would need to file a tax return, even if they had no other income

Social security (including SSDI) only becomes taxable when your total income, including 1/2 your social security, reaches $32,000 (Married Filing Jointly(MFJ)).  So, a couple receiving more than $64,000 of SS annually ($5333/Mo), would meet that  threshold. 

So, for most people, 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.

*$3895 for someone who waits for age 70 to start receiving SS