@mach1ch5 wrote:
Do retirees have to pay estimated taxes?
There is no simple yes or no answer. It depends on your sources and amounts of income and what withholding arrangements you make.
If Social Security is your only income, you do not have to pay any tax. You don't even have to file a tax return.
If you have taxable income, you have to pay tax during the year. You can do that through withholding from certain types of income, or through quarterly estimated tax payments, or a combination of both. If you have other sources of income, it's likely that some of your Social Security will become taxable.
You can have tax withheld from Social Security benefits. Most pensions will withhold tax if you request it, or they may withhold tax automatically unless you tell them not to. If you withdraw money from an IRA you can ask the IRA custodian to withhold tax. Some other types of income, such as investment income, interest, dividends, and rental income generally do not withhold tax. If you have income from which no tax is withheld, you can increase the withholding on other income to cover the tax on the income that does not have withholding. All the withholding in added together on your tax return. It doesn't matter where it's withheld from. Only the total amount matters.
VolvoGirl gave you a brief summary of how to determine whether your withholding will be sufficient or you need to make estimated tax payments. For all the details, see IRS Publication 505, Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax.
All of the preceding applies to federal income tax. If you live in a state with state income tax, there are similar considerations for the state. Social Security will not withhold state tax, but most other income sources will withhold state tax if you choose.
