Social Security Income May Be Taxable

If you receive Social Security and depending on your total income, you may need to pay federal income tax on Social Security benefits. Potentially taxable payments include monthly retirement and disability benefits, along with survivor benefits.
To determine whether your benefits may be subject to federal tax, first add up your 2021 Social Security payments. Then add half of that amount to your other income for the year, such as wages, tips, pension payments, traditional IRA distributions, interest, dividends and capital gains. The resulting figure is your total income for the purpose of tax on Social Security.

Fifty percent of the benefits may be taxable if you are:

• Filing single, head of household or qualifying widow or widower with $25,000 to $34,000 income.
• Married filing separately and lived apart from your spouse for all of 2020 with $25,000 to $34,000 income.
• Married filing jointly with $32,000 to $44,000 income.

Up to 85% of the benefits may be taxable if you are:

• Filing single, head of household or qualifying widow or widower with more than $34,000 income.
• Married filing jointly with more than $44,000 income.
• Married filing separately and lived apart from your spouse for all of 2021 with more than $34,000 income.
• Married filing separately and lived with your spouse at any time during 2021.

A tax professional can help you properly report your Social Security payments, and figure any tax due on them. Supplemental security income payments are not subject to these rules, and are not taxable.