Feature Articles: Taxes
Taxability of Social Security Benefits
Reviewed and used with special permission from the IRS by: Brenda Procter, M.S., and Debby Whiston, M.S., Consumer and Family Economics College of Human Environmental Sciences, University of Missouri Extension
The IRS says that whether your Social Security benefits
are taxable depends on your total income and marital
status. Form SSA-1099, which Social Security recipients
receive by January 31, shows your total benefits, but
determining your taxable benefits requires putting
pencil to paper.
Generally, if Social Security benefits were your only
income, your benefits are not taxable and you probably
do not need to file a federal income tax return. If you
received Social Security benefits plus other income, the
answer to how much, if any, is taxable can be found in
the worksheet in the Form 1040 or 1040A instruction
book.
For a quick computation, add one-half of your Social
Security benefits to all your other income, including
tax-exempt interest. If this amount is greater than the
base amount for your filing status, a part of your
benefits will be taxable.
The 2008 base amounts are:
- $34,000 for single, head of household, or qualifying widow/widower with a dependent child
- $34,000 for married individuals filing separately who did not live with their spouses at any time during the year
- $44,000 for married couples filing jointly
- $0 for married persons filing separately who lived together
If your benefits are taxable, you can avoid estimated
tax payments and minimize your tax bill next year by
having federal income tax withheld from your benefits.
Simply complete Form W-4V, "Voluntary Withholding
Request," and file it with the Social Security
Administration.
For additional information on the taxability of
Social Security benefits, see IRS Publication 915,
"Social Security and Equivalent Railroad Retirement
Benefits." Both Publication 915 and Form W-4V can be
downloaded from the IRS Web site at
www.irs.gov.
Source: IRS Tax Tip 2005-31
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Last update: Tuesday, May 05, 2009
