Received 2023 Form SSA-1099 AND 2024 Form SSA-1099SM for the SAME payment

[tmhartman92]

Hey all - would like your thoughts on how to handle this...

My husband was approved for SSD beginning July 2023, with first payment for July to happen on August 16, 2023. He passed away 8/10/2023 (cancer sucks). The first payment (and only payment he would be eligible for since he passed) was direct deposited 8/16/23. SSA withdrew the deposit on 8/29/23. July 2023 was still owed to him, so I started the process and filed form SSA-1724. It took several months, but finally in January 2024 I was sent a notice and the check in my name referencing my husband and the payment due to him/his estate.

Around the same time in January 2024, 2023 Form SSA-1099 was sent in my husband's name for the amount he should have received in SSD, but did NOT. My stressed and fragile widow's brain reasoned that SSA processed everything in the 2023 year, even though I received the SSD check in 2024 (in my name) for his estate. So I didn't question the 2023 SSA-1099 further and reported it when filing with TT and it was reflected on 6a of the 1040 form, and calculated the amount taxable.

Fast forward to January 2025. I have now received  a 2024 Form SSA-1099SM in MY name and SSN (though my husband's name and SSN is also referenced in Box 7 & 8). I have now received a 1099 in both 2023 and 2024 for the SAME SSD payment that was payable in 2023, but not actually paid until 2024.

So my question is - What is the most correct way to handle this? 2023 taxes was the last filing I made for my husband and me filing married. I'll be filing single for 2024. I would love to ignore the 2024 1099 since I already filed for it in 2023, and if push comes to shove, I can show and explain it all if anything gets flagged. But I don't really wanna get flagged. I like to be on the up and up, but at the same time, it's taking up too much rent in my head and I just want it to be done and filed with a pretty red bow. 🙂

Thank you for any insight you can offer!

[Ron Destro]

If I were you, I would contact the social security office to correct this. 

[tmhartman92]

Thank you! Sadly, I have made the initial contact today to the national SSA phone number. Held for nearly two hours just to reach a live human, then was on the phone with a super nice, but not 100% helpful, gentleman. I laid it all out as I have here, and he thanked me for the well explained explanation. 😏 He checked several sources, but came back to the same thing each time - for me to consult with my "tax professional" though he did kinda suggest since it really was handled in 2023, that I should be able to ignore the 2024 form (?!).

I do feel this is likely a SSA issue, not a "tax professional" issue to suss out. My gut feeling is that technically the 2023 SSA-1099 should be revised, but at the same time, I don't particularly want to revise 2023 taxes. Ugh. So it's frustrating to burn up 2.5 hours of my time with SSA today to be no closer to a real answer than where I was before. 😫

But maybe, fingers crossed, someone here has dealt with something similar, or TT has a magic form or something somewhere that will take care of this. I doubt it, but worth a try before I escalate things!

[IsabellaG · Accepted solution]

No, you shouldn't ignore your 2024 SSA-1099 because you actually did receive that money in 2024.

Your instinct that the 2023 SSA-1099 should be revised is on target. The Form SSA-1099 should have shown the amount paid to your husband on 8/16/23 in box 3. Then, in Box 4, there should be the amount repaid to Social Security, the amount debited from your account on 8/29/23. The difference should be in Box 5, Net Benefits for 2023, which should be zero.

I don't know if the SSA will amend their 1099-SSA, but even if they don't, I'd suggest amending your 2023 tax return to reflect that the funds were withdrawn from the account. It will take time to process the amended tax return, but you have bank records and correspondence to support what happened should the IRS request more information, which they probably will.

[tmhartman92]

Thank you so very much for your helpful advice, Isabella! That makes total sense and points me in a good direction.

I will move forward with looking into the amending the 2023 tax return and (rightly) include the SSA 1099SM income on my 2024 return.

😊