Hi, Thomas, and I work for the IRS. One of the most frequent questions the IRS gets every year is, "Are My Social Security Benefits Taxable?" The IRS website has a tool called the Interactive Tax Assistant that can help you answer this question. To use it, visit irs.gov/ita. Then, scroll down and click on "Are My Social Security or Railroad Retirement Tier One Benefits Taxable?" The ITA will guide you through a series of questions to determine whether your Social Security income is taxable. Here are some things to know: If Social Security is your only income during the year, generally, your payments are not taxable. On the other hand, if you have additional income, your payments may be taxable. Here's a quick way to estimate if you will have to include Social Security payments as income on your tax return. Take one half of the Social Security money you collected during the year and add it to your other income. Other income includes pensions, wages, interest, dividends, and capital gains. If you are single and that total comes to more than $25,000, then part of your Social Security benefits may be taxable. If you are married filing jointly, take half of your Social Security, plus half of your spouse's Social Security, and add that to all of your combined income. If that sum is more than $32,000, then part of your Social Security may be taxable. Again, there are lots of factors that can affect this calculation, so do yourself a favor and let the ITA do the work for you. Learn more by going to irs.gov/ita. And, if you find this video helpful, please share it. Thank you.
