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If you received a lump-sum Social Security payment for one or more previous years, there are two ways to calculate the tax. One way is to simply report it as if it was all for the year in which you received it. The other way is to use the "lump-sum election." What that does is calculate how much of the benefit for each past year would have been taxable if you had reported it in that year, and then report that amount as taxable on your tax return for the year that you received the payment. The lump-sum election might save you some money on your taxes by making less of the Social Security benefits taxable. The only way to know for sure if it will help you is to do the calculations. But doing it requires some information from your tax returns for each prior year that the lump sum covers.
You are not required to use the lump-sum election. If you have, or can obtain, the necessary information from the prior year tax returns, you would calculate the tax both ways, and choose whichever method makes your tax lower. TurboTax will do all the calculations for you. If you cannot get the information needed for the lump-sum election, you can just report the full amount in the year that you received it.
In any case, you do not amend your tax returns for the earlier years. The lump-sum payment is completely taken care of on your tax return for the year that you received it.
When you enter your Form SSA-1099 enter the full box 5 amount, and any other information from the SSA-1099, then click Continue. The next screen will ask whether you received a lump-sum payment. Select Yes and continue through the questions. You will need your tax returns for the earlier years. Enter the information for one prior year at a time. It doesn't matter what order you enter them in. After you answer all the questions for the first prior year you will come to a "Lump-Sum Social Security Payments Summary" screen. On that screen click the button that says "Add Another Lump Sum" and go through the same questions for the next year. Repeat this until you have entered all the prior years, then click Done on the summary screen.
