Ssi payments for 2016/17/18 paid in 2019 do I claim it as income in 2019

[DoninGA]

Did you receive a Form SSA-1099 with these payments included in the amount of benefits paid shown in box 5 of the form?  If so, then you have to enter the SSA-1099 on your tax return.  After you enter the amount from the SSA-1099 you will be asked if you received any lump sum payments.  Answer Yes and then follow the interview to report the lump sum amounts by year.

To enter Social Security benefits reported on form SSA-1099

• Click on Federal Taxes (Personal using Home and Business)
• Click on Wages and Income (Personal Income using Home and Business)
• Click on I'll choose what I work on (if shown)
• Scroll down to Retirement Plans and Social Security
• On Social Security (SSA-1099, RRB-1099), click the start or update button

Or enter ssa-1099 in the Search box located in the upper right of the program screen. Click on Jump to ssa-1099

[ReginaM]

After you enter your SSA-1099 information, we'll ask if you received a lump-sum Social Security payment.

Answer Yes and follow the instructions. Your SSA-1099 lump-sum section breaks down the payments into what amount was received for each preceding year. You can only enter one year at a time. If you need to enter benefits received for a different tax year, select Add another lump-sum payment.

While your lump sum may include benefit payments for more than one year, you do not have to file an amended tax return for any prior year. You might need to pay taxes on a small portion of your lump-sum payment. 

After you enter your lump-sum Social Security payment information, TurboTax will automatically figure what if any taxes you owe due to the lump-sum payment.