Social security tax

[DSDYE]

I received 9 months of back payments from social security this month. How will this affect my taxes. Will I have to pay federal and state taxes on this amount? I'm in Minnesota. Thank you

[xmasbaby0]

You will receive a SSA1099 in January with the amount of SS you received in 2022.

Do not try to enter your SSA1099  or RR1099RB as a W-2.  Go to Federal> Wages & Income>>Retirement Plans and Social Security  (SSA1099 and 1099RRB) to enter your SSA1099.

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 2019 it was $17,640— for 2020 it was $18,240; for 2021 it was  $18,960.  For 2022 it was  $19,560  —  for 2023 $21,240

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 2021 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

[KarenL4]

Hi,

First, congratulations on getting that back payment. 

You must include the taxable part of a lump-sum payment of benefits received in the current year (reported to you on Form SSA-1099, Social Security Benefit Statement) in your current year's income, even if the payment includes benefits for an earlier year.

However, there are two ways to determine the amount of income to include:

1. You can use your current year's income to figure the taxable part of the total benefits received in the current year; or
2. You may make an election to figure the taxable part of a lump-sum payment for an earlier year separately, using your income for the earlier year.

Here is a link from the IRS that gives you more detail about how to proceed if you select Option 2.

Please cheer below if you find this answer helpful.

Best,

Karen