Department of the Treasury

Internal Revenue Service

Publication 915

Cat. No. 15320P

Social Security and Equivalent Railroad Retirement Benefits

For use in preparing 2023 Returns

Nov 30, 2023

Future Developments

For the latest information about developments related to Pub. 915, such as legislation enacted after it was published, go to IRS.gov/Pub915.

Reminders

Filing status name changed to qualifying surviving spouse. The filing status qualifying widow(er) is now called qualifying surviving spouse. The rules for the filing status have not changed. The same rules that applied for qualifying widow(er) apply to qualifying surviving spouse. See Qualifying Surviving Spouse in the Instructions for Form 1040 for details.

Lines 1a through 1z on Forms 1040 and 1040-SR. Line﻿ ﻿1 is expanded and there are lines 1a through 1z. Some amounts that in prior years were reported on Form 1040 and Form 1040-SR, are now reported on Schedule 1 (Form 1040).

Scholarships and fellowship grants are now reported on Schedule 1, line﻿ ﻿8r.

Pension or annuity from a nonqualified deferred compensation plan or a nongovernmental section 457 plan is now reported on Schedule 1, line﻿ ﻿8t.

Wages earned while incarcerated are now reported on Schedule 1, line﻿ ﻿8u.

Line﻿ ﻿6c on Forms 1040 and 1040-SR. A checkbox was added on line﻿ ﻿6c. Taxpayers who elect to use the lump-sum election method for their benefits will check this box. See Lump-Sum Election, later.

my Social Security account. Social security beneficiaries may quickly and easily obtain information from the Social Security Administration's (SSA's) website with a my Social Security account to:

Keep track of your earnings and verify them every year,

Get an estimate of your future benefits if you are still working,

Get a letter with proof of your benefits if you currently receive them,

Change your address,

Start or change your direct deposit,

Get a replacement Medicare card, and

Get a replacement Form SSA-1099 or SSA-1042S for the tax season.

For more information and to set up an account, go to SSA.gov/myaccount.

Photographs of missing children. The IRS is a proud partner with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children® (NCMEC). Photographs of missing children selected by the Center may appear in this publication on pages that would otherwise be blank. You can help bring these children home by looking at the photographs and calling 1﻿-﻿800-THE-LOST (1﻿-﻿800﻿-﻿843﻿-﻿5678) if you recognize a child.

Introduction

This publication explains the federal income tax rules for social security benefits and equivalent tier 1 railroad retirement benefits. It is prepared through the joint efforts of the IRS, the Social Security Administration (SSA), and the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board (RRB).

Social security benefits include monthly retirement, survivor, and disability benefits. They don’t include Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments, which aren’t taxable.

Equivalent tier 1 railroad retirement benefits are the part of tier 1 benefits that a railroad employee or beneficiary would have been entitled to receive under the social security system. They are commonly called the social security equivalent benefit (SSEB) portion of tier 1 benefits.

If you received these benefits during 2023, you should have received a Form SSA-1099, Social Security Benefit Statement; Form RRB-1099, Payments by the Railroad Retirement Board; Form SSA-1042S, Social Security Benefit Statement; or Form RRB-1042S, Statement for Nonresident Alien Recipients of Payments by the Railroad Retirement Board, showing the amount.

Note. When the term “benefits” is used in this publication, it applies to both social security benefits and the SSEB portion of tier 1 railroad retirement benefits.

What is covered in this publication.

This publication covers the following topics.

Whether any of your benefits are taxable.

How to report taxable benefits.

How much is taxable.

How to treat lump-sum benefit payments.

Deductions related to your benefits, including a deduction or credit you can claim if your repayments are more than your gross benefits.

The Appendix near the end of this publication explains items shown on your Form SSA-1099, SSA-1042S, RRB-1099, or RRB-1042S.

What isn’t covered in this publication.

This publication doesn’t cover the tax rules for the following railroad retirement benefits.

Non-social security equivalent benefit (NSSEB) portion of tier 1 benefits.

Tier 2 benefits.

Vested dual benefits.

Supplemental annuity benefits.

For information on these taxable pension benefits, see Pub. 575, Pension and Annuity Income.

This publication also doesn’t cover the tax rules for foreign social security benefits. These benefits are taxable as annuities, unless they are exempt from U.S. tax or treated as a U.S. social security benefit under a tax treaty.

Comments and suggestions.

We welcome your comments about this publication and suggestions for future editions.

You can send us comments through IRS.gov/FormComments. Or, you can write to the Internal Revenue Service, Tax Forms and Publications, 1111 Constitution Ave. NW, IR-6526, Washington, DC 20224.

Although we can’t respond individually to each comment received, we do appreciate your feedback and will consider your comments and suggestions as we revise our tax forms, instructions, and publications. Don’t send tax questions, tax returns, or payments to the above address.

Getting answers to your tax questions.

If you have a tax question not answered by this publication or the How To Get Tax Help section at the end of this publication, go to the IRS Interactive Tax Assistant page at IRS.gov/Help/ITA where you can find topics by using the search feature or viewing the categories listed.

Getting tax forms, instructions, and publications.

Go to IRS.gov/Forms to download current and prior-year forms, instructions, and publications.

Ordering tax forms, instructions, and publications.

Go to IRS.gov/OrderForms to order current forms, instructions, and publications; call 800﻿-﻿829﻿-﻿3676 to order prior-year forms and instructions. The IRS will process your order for forms and publications as soon as possible. Don’t resubmit requests you’ve already sent us. You can get forms and publications faster online.

Useful Items

You may want to see:

Publication

﻿ ﻿501﻿ ﻿Dependents, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information

﻿ ﻿505﻿ ﻿Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax

﻿ ﻿519﻿ ﻿U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens

﻿ ﻿575﻿ ﻿Pension and Annuity Income

﻿ ﻿590-A﻿ ﻿Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs)

Form (and Instructions)

﻿ ﻿1040-ES﻿ ﻿Estimated Tax for Individuals

﻿ ﻿SSA-1099﻿ ﻿Social Security Benefit Statement

﻿ ﻿RRB-1099﻿ ﻿Payments by the Railroad Retirement Board

﻿ ﻿W-4V﻿ ﻿Voluntary Withholding Request

See How To Get Tax Help at the end of this publication for information about getting these publications and forms.

Are Any of Your Benefits Taxable?

To find out whether any of your benefits shown on Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099 may be taxable, compare the base amount (explained later) for your filing status with the total of:

One-half of your benefits; plus

All your other income, including tax-exempt interest.

Exclusions.

When making this comparison, don’t reduce your other income by any exclusions for:

Interest from qualified U.S. savings bonds,

Employer-provided adoption benefits,

Interest on education loans,

Foreign earned income or foreign housing, or

Income earned by bona fide residents of American Samoa or Puerto Rico.

Children's benefits.

The rules in this publication apply to benefits received by children. See Who is taxed, later.

The SSA issues Forms SSA-1099 and SSA-1042S. The RRB issues Forms RRB-1099 and RRB-1042S. These forms (tax statements) report the amounts paid and repaid, and taxes withheld for a tax year. You may receive more than one of these forms for the same tax year. See the Appendix, later, for more information.

Each original Form RRB-1099 or RRB-1042S is valid unless it has been corrected. The RRB will issue a corrected Form RRB-1099 or RRB-1042S if there is an error in the original. A corrected Form RRB-1099 or RRB-1042S is indicated as “CORRECTED” and replaces the corresponding original Form RRB-1099 or RRB-1042S. You must use the latest corrected Form RRB-1099 or RRB-1042S you received and any original Form RRB-1099 or RRB-1042S that the RRB hasn’t corrected when you determine what amounts to report on your tax return.

Figuring total income.

To figure the total of one-half of your benefits plus your other income, use Worksheet A, discussed later. If the total is more than your base amount, part of your benefits may be taxable.

If you are married and file a joint return for 2023, you and your spouse must combine your incomes and your benefits to figure whether any of your combined benefits are taxable. Even if your spouse didn’t receive any benefits, you must add your spouse's income to yours to figure whether any of your benefits are taxable.

If the only income you received during 2023 was your social security or the SSEB portion of tier 1 railroad retirement benefits, your benefits generally aren’t taxable and you probably don’t have to file a return. If you have income in addition to your benefits, you may have to file a return even if none of your benefits are taxable. See Pub. 501 or your tax return instructions to find out if you have to file a return.

Base amount.

Your base amount is:

$25,000 if you are single, head of household, or qualifying surviving spouse;

$25,000 if you are married filing separately and lived apart from your spouse for all of 2023;

$32,000 if you are married filing jointly; or

$0 if you are married filing separately and lived with your spouse at any time during 2023.

Worksheet A.

You can use Worksheet A to figure the amount of income to compare with your base amount. This is a quick way to check whether some of your benefits may be taxable.

Keep for Your Records Keep for Your Records

Worksheet A. A Quick Way To Check if Your Benefits May Be Taxable

Note. If you plan to file a joint income tax return, include your spouse's amounts, if any, on lines A, C, and D.

A.

Enter the total amount from box 5 of ALL your Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099. Include the full amount of any lump-sum benefit payments received in 2023, for 2023 and earlier years. (If you received more than one form, combine the amounts from box 5 and enter the total.)

A.

Note. If the amount on line A is zero or less, stop here; none of your benefits are taxable this year.

B.

Multiply line A by 50% (0.50)

B.

C.

Enter your total income that is taxable (excluding line A), such as pensions, wages, interest, ordinary dividends, and capital gain distributions. Don’t reduce your income by any deductions, exclusions (listed earlier), or exemptions

C.

D.

Enter any tax-exempt interest income, such as interest on municipal bonds

D.

E.

Add lines B, C, and D

E.

Note. Compare the amount on line E to your base amount for your filing status. If the amount on line E equals or is less than the base amount for your filing status, none of your benefits are taxable this year. If the amount on line E is more than your base amount, some of your benefits may be taxable. You need to complete Worksheet 1. If none of your benefits are taxable, but you must otherwise file a tax return, see Benefits not taxable, later, under How To Report Your Benefits.

Example. You and your spouse (both over age 65) are filing a joint return for 2023 and you both received social security benefits during the year. In January 2024, you received a Form SSA-1099 showing net benefits of $1,500 in box 5. Your spouse received a Form SSA-1099 showing net benefits of $700 in box 5. You also received a taxable pension of $30,100 and interest income of $700. You didn’t have any tax-exempt interest income. Your benefits aren’t taxable for 2023 because your income, as figured on Worksheet A, isn’t more than your base amount ($32,000) for married filing jointly.

  Even though none of your benefits are taxable, you must file a return for 2023 because your taxable gross income ($30,800) exceeds the minimum filing requirement amount for your filing status.

Keep for Your Records Keep for Your Records

Filled-in Worksheet A. A Quick Way To Check if Your Benefits May Be Taxable

Note. If you plan to file a joint income tax return, include your spouse's amounts, if any, on lines A, C, and D.

A.

Enter the total amount from box 5 of ALL your Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099. Include the full amount of any lump-sum benefit payments received in 2023, for 2023 and earlier years. (If you received more than one form, combine the amounts from box 5 and enter the total.)

A.

$2,200

Note. If the amount on line A is zero or less, stop here; none of your benefits are taxable this year.

B.

Multiply line A by 50% (0.50)

B.

1,100

C.

Enter your total income that is taxable (excluding line A), such as pensions, wages, interest, ordinary dividends, and capital gain distributions. Don’t reduce your income by any deductions, exclusions (listed earlier), or exemptions

C.

30,800

D.

Enter any tax-exempt interest income, such as interest on municipal bonds

D.

-0-

E.

Add lines B, C, and D

E.

$31,900

Note. Compare the amount on line E to your base amount for your filing status. If the amount on line E equals or is less than the base amount for your filing status, none of your benefits are taxable this year. If the amount on line E is more than your base amount, some of your benefits may be taxable and you will need to complete Worksheet 1. If none of your benefits are taxable, but you must otherwise file a tax return, see Benefits not taxable, later, under How To Report Your Benefits.

Who is taxed.

Benefits are included in the taxable income (to the extent they are taxable) of the person who has the legal right to receive the benefits. For example, if you and your child receive benefits, but the check for your child is made out in your name, you must use only your part of the benefits to see whether any benefits are taxable to you. One-half of the part that belongs to your child must be added to your child's other income to see whether any of those benefits are taxable to your child.

Repayment of benefits.

Any repayment of benefits you made during 2023 must be subtracted from the gross benefits you received in 2023. It doesn’t matter whether the repayment was for a benefit you received in 2023 or in an earlier year. If you repaid more than the gross benefits you received in 2023, see Repayments More Than Gross Benefits, later.

Your gross benefits are shown in box 3 of Form SSA-1099 or RRB-1099. Your repayments are shown in box 4. The amount in box 5 shows your net benefits for 2023 (box 3 minus box 4). Use the amount in box 5 to figure whether any of your benefits are taxable.

Example. In 2022, you received $3,000 in social security benefits, and in 2023 you received $2,700. In March 2023, the SSA notified you that you should have received only $2,500 in benefits in 2022. During 2023, you repaid $500 to the SSA. The Form SSA-1099 you received for 2023 shows $2,700 in box 3 (gross amount) and $500 in box 4 (repayment). The amount in box 5 shows your net benefits of $2,200 ($2,700 minus $500).

Tax withholding and estimated tax.

You can choose to have federal income tax withheld from your social security benefits and/or the SSEB portion of your tier 1 railroad retirement benefits. If you choose to do this, you must complete a Form W-4V.

If you don’t choose to have income tax withheld, you may have to request additional withholding from other income or pay estimated tax during the year. For details, see Pub. 505, or the Instructions for Form 1040-ES.

U.S. citizens residing abroad.

U.S. citizens who are residents of the following countries are exempt from U.S. tax on their benefits.

Canada.

Egypt.

Germany.

Ireland.

Israel.

Italy. (You must also be a citizen of Italy for the exemption to apply.)

Romania.

United Kingdom.

The SSA won’t withhold U.S. tax from your benefits if you are a U.S. citizen.

The RRB will withhold U.S. tax from your benefits unless you file Form RRB-1001, Nonresident Questionnaire, with the RRB to provide citizenship and residency information. If you don’t file Form RRB-1001, the RRB will consider you a nonresident alien and withhold tax from your railroad retirement benefits at a 30% rate. Contact the RRB to get this form.

Lawful permanent residents.

For U.S. income tax purposes, lawful permanent residents (green card holders) are considered resident aliens until their lawful permanent resident status under the immigration laws is either taken away or is administratively or judicially determined to have been abandoned. Social security benefits paid to a green card holder are not subject to 30% withholding. If you are a green card holder and tax was withheld in error on your social security benefits because you have a foreign address, the withholding tax is refundable by the SSA or the IRS. The SSA will refund taxes erroneously withheld if the refund can be processed during the same calendar year in which the tax was withheld. If the SSA can’t refund the taxes withheld, you must file a Form 1040 or 1040-SR with the Internal Revenue Service Center, Austin, TX 73301, to determine if you are entitled to a refund. You must also attach the following information to your Form 1040 or 1040-SR.

A copy of the Form SSA-1042S.

A copy of the “green card” unless you are a bona fide resident of American Samoa.

A signed declaration that includes the following statements:

“The SSA should not have withheld federal income tax from my social security benefits because I am a U.S. lawful permanent resident and my green card has been neither revoked nor administratively or judicially determined to have been abandoned. I am filing a U.S. income tax return for the tax year as a resident alien reporting all of my worldwide income. I have not claimed benefits for the tax year under an income tax treaty as a nonresident alien.”

Nonresident aliens.

A nonresident alien is an individual who isn’t a citizen or resident of the United States. If you are a nonresident alien, the rules discussed in this publication don’t apply to you. Instead, 85% of your benefits are taxed at a 30% rate, unless exempt (or subject to a lower rate) by treaty. You will receive a Form SSA-1042S or RRB-1042S showing the amount of your benefits. These forms will also show the tax rate and the amount of tax withheld from your benefits.

Under tax treaties with the following countries, residents of these countries are exempt from U.S. tax on their benefits.

Canada.

Egypt.

Germany.

Ireland.

Israel.

Italy.

Japan.

Romania.

United Kingdom.

Under a treaty with India, benefits paid to individuals who are both residents and nationals of India are exempt from U.S. tax if the benefits are for services performed for the United States, its subdivisions, or local government authorities.

If you are a resident of Switzerland, your total benefit amount will be taxed at a 15% rate.

For more information on whether you are a nonresident alien, see Pub. 519.

Exemption from withholding.

If your social security benefits are exempt from tax because you are a resident of one of the treaty countries listed, the SSA won’t withhold U.S. tax from your benefits.

If your railroad retirement benefits are exempt from tax because you are a resident of one of the treaty countries listed, you can claim an exemption from withholding by filing Form RRB-1001 with the RRB. Contact the RRB to get this form.

Canadian or German social security benefits paid to U.S. residents.

Under income tax treaties with Canada and Germany, social security benefits paid by those countries to U.S. residents are treated for U.S. income tax purposes as if they were paid under the social security legislation of the United States. If you receive social security benefits from Canada or Germany, include them on line﻿ ﻿1 of Worksheet 1.

How To Report Your Benefits

If part of your benefits are taxable, you must use Form 1040 or 1040-SR.

Reporting on Form 1040 or 1040-SR.

Report your net benefits (the total amount from box 5 of all your Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099) on line﻿ ﻿6a and the taxable part on line﻿ ﻿6b. If you are married filing separately and you lived apart from your spouse for all of 2023, also enter “D” to the right of the word “benefits” on line﻿ ﻿6a.

Benefits not taxable.

Report your net benefits (the total amount from box 5 of all your Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099) on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line﻿ ﻿6a. Enter -0- on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line﻿ ﻿6b. If you are married filing separately and you lived apart from your spouse for all of 2023, also enter “D” to the right of the word “benefits” on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line﻿ ﻿6a.

How Much Is Taxable?

If part of your benefits are taxable, how much is taxable depends on the total amount of your benefits and other income. Generally, the higher that total amount, the greater the taxable part of your benefits.

Maximum taxable part.

Generally, up to 50% of your benefits will be taxable. However, up to 85% of your benefits can be taxable if either of the following situations applies to you.

The total of one-half of your benefits and all your other income is more than $34,000 ($44,000 if you are married filing jointly).

You are married filing separately and lived with your spouse at any time during 2023.

Which worksheet to use.

A worksheet you can use to figure your taxable benefits is in the Instructions for Form 1040. You can use either that worksheet or Worksheet 1 in this publication, unless any of the following situations applies to you.

You contributed to a traditional individual retirement arrangement (IRA) and you or your spouse is covered by a retirement plan at work. In this situation, you must use the special worksheets in Appendix B of Pub. 590-A to figure both your IRA deduction and your taxable benefits.

Situation 1 doesn’t apply and you take an exclusion for interest from qualified U.S. savings bonds (Form 8815), for adoption benefits (Form 8839), for foreign earned income or housing (Form 2555), or for income earned in American Samoa (Form 4563) or Puerto Rico by bona fide residents. In this situation, you must use Worksheet 1 in this publication to figure your taxable benefits.

You received a lump-sum payment for an earlier year. In this situation, also complete Worksheet 2 or 3 and Worksheet 4 in this publication. See Lump-Sum Election, later.

Examples

A few examples you can use as a guide to figure the taxable part of your benefits follow.

Examples

Example 1. George White is single and files Form 1040 for 2023. In addition to receiving social security payments, he received a fully taxable pension of $18,600, wages from a part-time job of $9,400, and taxable interest income of $990, for a total of $28,990. He received a Form SSA-1099 in January 2024 that shows his net social security benefits of $5,980 in box 5.

  To figure his taxable benefits, George completes Worksheet 1, shown below. On line﻿ ﻿6a of his Form 1040, George enters his net benefits of $5,980. On line﻿ ﻿6b, he enters his taxable benefits of $2,990.

Keep for Your Records Keep for Your Records

Filled-in Worksheet 1. Figuring Your Taxable Benefits

Before you begin:

If you are married filing separately and you lived apart from your spouse for all of 2023, enter “D” to the right of the word “benefits” on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line﻿ ﻿6a.

Don’t use this worksheet if you repaid benefits in 2023 and your total repayments (box 4 of Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099) were more than your gross benefits for 2023 (box 3 of Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099). None of your benefits are taxable for 2023. For more information, see Repayments More Than Gross Benefits.

If you are filing Form 8815, Exclusion of Interest From Series EE and I U.S. Savings Bonds Issued After 1989, don’t include the amount from line﻿ ﻿2b of Form 1040 or 1040-SR on line﻿ ﻿3 of this worksheet. Instead, include the amount from Schedule﻿ ﻿B (Form 1040), line﻿ ﻿2.

 1.

Enter the total amount from box 5 of ALL your Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099. Also enter this amount on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line﻿ ﻿6a

 1.

$5,980

 2.

Multiply line﻿ ﻿1 by 50% (0.50)

 2.

2,990

 3.

Combine the amounts from Form 1040 or 1040-SR, lines 1z, 2b, 3b, 4b, 5b, 7, and 8

 3.

28,990

 4.

Enter the amount, if any, from Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line﻿ ﻿2a

 4.

-0-

 5.

Enter the total of any exclusions/adjustments for:

Adoption benefits (Form 8839, line﻿ ﻿28),

Foreign earned income or housing (Form 2555, lines 45 and 50), and

Certain income of bona fide residents of American Samoa (Form 4563, line﻿ ﻿15) or Puerto Rico

 5.

-0-

 6.

Combine lines 2, 3, 4, and 5 above

 6.

31,980

 7.

 Enter the total of the amounts from Schedule 1 (Form 1040), lines 11 through 20, and 23 and 25

 7.

-0-

 8.

Is the amount on line﻿ ﻿7 less than the amount on line﻿ ﻿6?

No.

None of your social security benefits are taxable. Enter -0- on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line﻿ ﻿6b.

Yes.

 Subtract line﻿ ﻿7 from line﻿ ﻿6

 8.

31,980

 9.

If you are:

Married filing jointly, enter $32,000; or

Single, head of household, qualifying surviving spouse, or married filing separately and you lived apart from your spouse for all of 2023, enter $25,000

 9.

25,000

Note. If you are married filing separately and you lived with your spouse at any time in 2023, skip lines 9 through 16, multiply line﻿ ﻿8 by 85% (0.85), and enter the result on line﻿ ﻿17. Then, go to line﻿ ﻿18.

10.

Is the amount on line﻿ ﻿9 less than the amount on line﻿ ﻿8?

No.

None of your benefits are taxable. Enter -0- on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line﻿ ﻿6b. If you are married filing separately and you lived apart from your spouse for all of 2023, be sure you entered “D” to the right of the word “benefits” on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line﻿ ﻿6a.

Yes.

 Subtract line﻿ ﻿9 from line﻿ ﻿8

10.

6,980

11.

Enter $12,000 if married filing jointly; or $9,000 if single, head of household, qualifying surviving spouse, or married filing separately and you lived apart from your spouse for all of 2023

11.

9,000

12.

Subtract line﻿ ﻿11 from line﻿ ﻿10. If zero or less, enter -0-

12.

-0-

13.

Enter the smaller of line﻿ ﻿10 or line﻿ ﻿11

13.

6,980

14.

Multiply line﻿ ﻿13 by 50% (0.50)

14.

3,490

15.

Enter the smaller of line﻿ ﻿2 or line﻿ ﻿14

15.

2,990

16.

Multiply line﻿ ﻿12 by 85% (0.85). If line﻿ ﻿12 is zero, enter -0-

16.

-0-

17.

Add lines 15 and 16

17.

2,990

18.

Multiply line﻿ ﻿1 by 85% (0.85)

18.

5,083

19.

Taxable benefits. Enter the smaller of line﻿ ﻿17 or line﻿ ﻿18. Also enter this amount on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line﻿ ﻿6b

19.

$2,990

If you received a lump-sum payment in 2023 that was for an earlier year, also complete Worksheet 2 or 3 and Worksheet 4 to see if you can report a lower taxable benefit.

Example 2. Ray and Alice Hopkins file a joint return on Form 1040 for 2023. Ray is retired and received a fully taxable pension of $15,500. He also received social security benefits, and his Form SSA-1099 for 2023 shows net benefits of $5,600 in box 5. Alice worked during the year and had wages of $14,000. She made a deductible payment to her IRA account of $1,000 and isn’t covered by a retirement plan at work. Ray and Alice have two savings accounts with a total of $250 in taxable interest income. They complete Worksheet 1, shown below, entering $29,750 ($15,500 + $14,000 + $250) on line﻿ ﻿3. They find none of Ray's social security benefits are taxable. On Form 1040, they enter $5,600 on line﻿ ﻿6a and -0- on line﻿ ﻿6b.

Keep for Your Records Keep for Your Records

Filled-in Worksheet 1. Figuring Your Taxable Benefits

Before you begin:

If you are married filing separately and you lived apart from your spouse for all of 2023, enter “D” to the right of the word “benefits” on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line﻿ ﻿6a.

Don’t use this worksheet if you repaid benefits in 2023 and your total repayments (box 4 of Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099) were more than your gross benefits for 2023 (box 3 of Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099). None of your benefits are taxable for 2023. For more information, see Repayments More Than Gross Benefits.

If you are filing Form 8815, Exclusion of Interest From Series EE and I U.S. Savings Bonds Issued After 1989, don’t include the amount from line﻿ ﻿2b of Form 1040 or 1040-SR on line﻿ ﻿3 of this worksheet. Instead, include the amount from Schedule﻿ ﻿B (Form 1040), line﻿ ﻿2.

 1.

Enter the total amount from box 5 of ALL your Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099. Also enter this amount on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line﻿ ﻿6a

 1.

$5,600

 2.

Multiply line﻿ ﻿1 by 50% (0.50)

 2.

2,800

 3.

Combine the amounts from Form 1040 or 1040-SR, lines 1z, 2b, 3b, 4b, 5b, 7, and 8

 3.

29,750

 4.

Enter the amount, if any, from Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line﻿ ﻿2a

 4.

-0-

 5.

Enter the total of any exclusions/adjustments for:

Adoption benefits (Form 8839, line﻿ ﻿28),

Foreign earned income or housing (Form 2555, lines 45 and 50), and

Certain income of bona fide residents of American Samoa (Form 4563, line﻿ ﻿15) or Puerto Rico

 5.

-0-

 6.

Combine lines 2, 3, 4, and 5 above

 6.

32,550

 7.

 Enter the total of the amounts from Schedule 1 (Form 1040), lines 11 through 20, and 23 and 25

 7.

1,000

 8.

Is the amount on line﻿ ﻿7 less than the amount on line﻿ ﻿6?

No.

None of your social security benefits are taxable. Enter -0- on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line﻿ ﻿6b.

Yes.

 Subtract line﻿ ﻿7 from line﻿ ﻿6

 8.

31,550

 9.

If you are:

Married filing jointly, enter $32,000; or

Single, head of household, qualifying surviving spouse, or married filing separately and you lived apart from your spouse for all of 2023, enter $25,000

 9.

32,000

Note. If you are married filing separately and you lived with your spouse at any time in 2023, skip lines 9 through 16, multiply line﻿ ﻿8 by 85% (0.85), and enter the result on line﻿ ﻿17. Then, go to line﻿ ﻿18.

10.

Is the amount on line﻿ ﻿9 less than the amount on line﻿ ﻿8?

No.

None of your benefits are taxable. Enter -0- on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line﻿ ﻿6b. If you are married filing separately and you lived apart from your spouse for all of 2023, be sure you entered “D” to the right of the word “benefits” on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line﻿ ﻿6a.

Yes.

 Subtract line﻿ ﻿9 from line﻿ ﻿8

10.

11.

Enter $12,000 if married filing jointly; or $9,000 if single, head of household, qualifying surviving spouse, or married filing separately and you lived apart from your spouse for all of 2023

11.

12.

Subtract line﻿ ﻿11 from line﻿ ﻿10. If zero or less, enter -0-

12.

13.

Enter the smaller of line﻿ ﻿10 or line﻿ ﻿11

13.

14.

Multiply line﻿ ﻿13 by 50% (0.50)

14.

15.

Enter the smaller of line﻿ ﻿2 or line﻿ ﻿14

15.

16.

Multiply line﻿ ﻿12 by 85% (0.85). If line﻿ ﻿12 is zero, enter -0-

16.

17.

Add lines 15 and 16

17.

18.

Multiply line﻿ ﻿1 by 85% (0.85)

18.

19.

Taxable benefits. Enter the smaller of line﻿ ﻿17 or line﻿ ﻿18. Also enter this amount on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line﻿ ﻿6b

19.

If you received a lump-sum payment in 2023 that was for an earlier year, also complete Worksheet 2 or 3 and Worksheet 4 to see if you can report a lower taxable benefit.

Example 3. Joe and Betty Johnson file a joint return on Form 1040 for 2023. Joe is a retired railroad worker and in 2023 received the SSEB portion of tier 1 railroad retirement benefits. Joe's Form RRB-1099 shows $10,000 in box 5. Betty is a retired government worker and received a fully taxable pension of $38,000. They had $2,300 in taxable interest income plus interest of $200 on a qualified U.S. savings bond. The savings bond interest qualified for the exclusion. They figure their taxable benefits by completing Worksheet 1, shown below. Because they have qualified U.S. savings bond interest, they follow the note at the beginning of the worksheet and use the amount from line﻿ ﻿2 of their Schedule﻿ ﻿B (Form 1040) on line﻿ ﻿3 of the worksheet instead of the amount from line﻿ ﻿2b of their Form 1040. On line﻿ ﻿3 of the worksheet, they enter $40,500 ($38,000 + $2,500). More than 50% of Joe's net benefits are taxable because the income on line﻿ ﻿8 of the worksheet ($45,500) is more than $44,000. (See Maximum taxable part under How Much Is Taxable, earlier.) Joe and Betty enter $10,000 on Form 1040, line﻿ ﻿6a; and $6,275 on Form 1040, line﻿ ﻿6b.

Keep for Your Records Keep for Your Records

Filled-in Worksheet 1. Figuring Your Taxable Benefits

Before you begin:

If you are married filing separately and you lived apart from your spouse for all of 2023, enter “D” to the right of the word “benefits” on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line﻿ ﻿6a.

Don’t use this worksheet if you repaid benefits in 2023 and your total repayments (box 4 of Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099) were more than your gross benefits for 2023 (box 3 of Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099). None of your benefits are taxable for 2023. For more information, see Repayments More Than Gross Benefits.

If you are filing Form 8815, Exclusion of Interest From Series EE and I U.S. Savings Bonds Issued After 1989, don’t include the amount from line﻿ ﻿2b of Form 1040 or 1040-SR on line﻿ ﻿3 of this worksheet. Instead, include the amount from Schedule﻿ ﻿B (Form 1040), line﻿ ﻿2.

 1.

Enter the total amount from box 5 of ALL your Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099. Also enter this amount on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line﻿ ﻿6a

 1.

$10,000

 2.

Multiply line﻿ ﻿1 by 50% (0.50)

 2.

5,000

 3.

Combine the amounts from Form 1040 or 1040-SR, lines 1z, 2b, 3b, 4b, 5b, 7, and 8

 3.

40,500

 4.

Enter the amount, if any, from Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line﻿ ﻿2a

 4.

-0-

 5.

Enter the total of any exclusions/adjustments for:

Adoption benefits (Form 8839, line﻿ ﻿28),

Foreign earned income or housing (Form 2555, lines 45 and 50), and

Certain income of bona fide residents of American Samoa (Form 4563, line﻿ ﻿15) or Puerto Rico

 5.

-0-

 6.

Combine lines 2, 3, 4, and 5 above

 6.

45,500

 7.

 Enter the total of the amounts from Schedule 1 (Form 1040), lines 11 through 20, and 23 and 25

 7.

-0-

 8.

Is the amount on line﻿ ﻿7 less than the amount on line﻿ ﻿6?

No.

None of your social security benefits are taxable. Enter -0- on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line﻿ ﻿6b.

Yes.

 Subtract line﻿ ﻿7 from line﻿ ﻿6

 8.

45,500

 9.

If you are:

Married filing jointly, enter $32,000; or

Single, head of household, qualifying surviving spouse, or married filing separately and you lived apart from your spouse for all of 2023, enter $25,000

 9.

32,000

Note. If you are married filing separately and you lived with your spouse at any time in 2023, skip lines 9 through 16, multiply line﻿ ﻿8 by 85% (0.85), and enter the result on line﻿ ﻿17. Then, go to line﻿ ﻿18.

10.

Is the amount on line﻿ ﻿9 less than the amount on line﻿ ﻿8?

No.

None of your benefits are taxable. Enter -0- on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line﻿ ﻿6b. If you are married filing separately and you lived apart from your spouse for all of 2023, be sure you entered “D” to the right of the word “benefits” on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line﻿ ﻿6a.

Yes.

 Subtract line﻿ ﻿9 from line﻿ ﻿8

10.

13,500

11.

Enter $12,000 if married filing jointly; or $9,000 if single, head of household, qualifying surviving spouse, or married filing separately and you lived apart from your spouse for all of 2023

11.

12,000

12.

Subtract line﻿ ﻿11 from line﻿ ﻿10. If zero or less, enter -0-

12.

1,500

13.

Enter the smaller of line﻿ ﻿10 or line﻿ ﻿11

13.

12,000

14.

Multiply line﻿ ﻿13 by 50% (0.50)

14.

6,000

15.

Enter the smaller of line﻿ ﻿2 or line﻿ ﻿14

15.

5,000

16.

Multiply line﻿ ﻿12 by 85% (0.85). If line﻿ ﻿12 is zero, enter -0-

16.

1,275

17.

Add lines 15 and 16

17.

6,275

18.

Multiply line﻿ ﻿1 by 85% (0.85)

18.

8,500

19.

Taxable benefits. Enter the smaller of line﻿ ﻿17 or line﻿ ﻿18. Also enter this amount on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line﻿ ﻿6b

19.

$6,275

If you received a lump-sum payment in 2023 that was for an earlier year, also complete Worksheet 2 or 3 and Worksheet 4 to see if you can report a lower taxable benefit.

Example 4. Bill and Eileen Jones are married and live together, but file separate Form 1040 returns for 2023. Bill earned $8,000 during 2023. The only other income he had for the year was $4,000 net social security benefits (box 5 of his Form SSA-1099). Bill figures his taxable benefits by completing Worksheet 1, shown below. He must include 85% of his social security benefits in his taxable income because he is married filing separately and lived with his spouse during 2023. See How Much Is Taxable, earlier. Bill enters $4,000 on his Form 1040, line﻿ ﻿6a; and $3,400 on Form 1040, line﻿ ﻿6b.

Keep for Your Records Keep for Your Records

Filled-in Worksheet 1. Figuring Your Taxable Benefits

Before you begin:

If you are married filing separately and you lived apart from your spouse for all of 2023, enter “D” to the right of the word “benefits” on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line﻿ ﻿6a.

Don’t use this worksheet if you repaid benefits in 2023 and your total repayments (box 4 of Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099) were more than your gross benefits for 2023 (box 3 of Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099). None of your benefits are taxable for 2023. For more information, see Repayments More Than Gross Benefits.

If you are filing Form 8815, Exclusion of Interest From Series EE and I U.S. Savings Bonds Issued After 1989, don’t include the amount from line﻿ ﻿2b of Form 1040 or 1040-SR on line﻿ ﻿3 of this worksheet. Instead, include the amount from Schedule﻿ ﻿B (Form 1040), line﻿ ﻿2.

 1.

Enter the total amount from box 5 of ALL your Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099. Also enter this amount on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line﻿ ﻿6a

 1.

$4,000

 2.

Multiply line﻿ ﻿1 by 50% (0.50)

 2.

2,000

 3.

Combine the amounts from Form 1040 or 1040-SR, lines 1z, 2b, 3b, 4b, 5b, 7, and 8

 3.

8,000

 4.

Enter the amount, if any, from Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line﻿ ﻿2a

 4.

-0-

 5.

Enter the total of any exclusions/adjustments for:

Adoption benefits (Form 8839, line﻿ ﻿28),

Foreign earned income or housing (Form 2555, lines 45 and 50), and

Certain income of bona fide residents of American Samoa (Form 4563, line﻿ ﻿15) or Puerto Rico

 5.

-0-

 6.

Combine lines 2, 3, 4, and 5 above

 6.

10,000

 7.

 Enter the total of the amounts from Schedule 1 (Form 1040), lines 11 through 20, and 23 and 25

 7.

-0-

 8.

Is the amount on line﻿ ﻿7 less than the amount on line﻿ ﻿6?

No.

None of your social security benefits are taxable. Enter -0- on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line﻿ ﻿6b.

Yes.

 Subtract line﻿ ﻿7 from line﻿ ﻿6

 8.

10,000

 9.

If you are:

Married filing jointly, enter $32,000; or

Single, head of household, qualifying surviving spouse, or married filing separately and you lived apart from your spouse for all of 2023, enter $25,000

 9.

Note. If you are married filing separately and you lived with your spouse at any time in 2023, skip lines 9 through 16, multiply line﻿ ﻿8 by 85% (0.85), and enter the result on line﻿ ﻿17. Then, go to line﻿ ﻿18.

10.

Is the amount on line﻿ ﻿9 less than the amount on line﻿ ﻿8?

No.

None of your benefits are taxable. Enter -0- on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line﻿ ﻿6b. If you are married filing separately and you lived apart from your spouse for all of 2023, be sure you entered “D” to the right of the word “benefits” on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line﻿ ﻿6a.

Yes.

 Subtract line﻿ ﻿9 from line﻿ ﻿8

10.

11.

Enter $12,000 if married filing jointly; or $9,000 if single, head of household, qualifying surviving spouse, or married filing separately and you lived apart from your spouse for all of 2023

11.

12.

Subtract line﻿ ﻿11 from line﻿ ﻿10. If zero or less, enter -0-

12.

13.

Enter the smaller of line﻿ ﻿10 or line﻿ ﻿11

13.

14.

Multiply line﻿ ﻿13 by 50% (0.50)

14.

15.

Enter the smaller of line﻿ ﻿2 or line﻿ ﻿14

15.

16.

Multiply line﻿ ﻿12 by 85% (0.85). If line﻿ ﻿12 is zero, enter -0-

16.

17.

Add lines 15 and 16

17.

8,500

18.

Multiply line﻿ ﻿1 by 85% (0.85)

18.

3,400

19.

Taxable benefits. Enter the smaller of line﻿ ﻿17 or line﻿ ﻿18. Also enter this amount on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line﻿ ﻿6b

19.

$3,400

If you received a lump-sum payment in 2023 that was for an earlier year, also complete Worksheet 2 or 3 and Worksheet 4 to see if you can report a lower taxable benefit.

Lump-Sum Election

You must include the taxable part of a lump-sum (retroactive) payment of benefits received in 2023 in your 2023 income, even if the payment includes benefits for an earlier year.

Check the box on line﻿ ﻿6c if you elect to use the lump-sum election method for your benefits. If any of your benefits are taxable for 2023 and they include a lump-sum benefit payment that was for an earlier year, you may be able to to reduce the taxable amount with the lump-sum election.

This type of lump-sum benefit payment shouldn’t be confused with the lump-sum death benefit that both the SSA and RRB pay to many of their beneficiaries. No part of the lump-sum death benefit is subject to tax.

Generally, you use your 2023 income to figure the taxable part of the total benefits received in 2023. However, you may be able to figure the taxable part of a lump-sum payment for an earlier year separately, using your income for the earlier year. You can elect this method if it lowers your taxable benefits.

Under the lump-sum election method, you refigure the taxable part of all your benefits for the earlier year (including the lump-sum payment) using that year's income. Then, you subtract any taxable benefits for that year that you previously reported. The remainder is the taxable part of the lump-sum payment. Add it to the taxable part of your benefits for 2023 (figured without the lump-sum payment for the earlier year).

Because the earlier year's taxable benefits are included in your 2023 income, no adjustment is made to the earlier year's return. Don’t file an amended return for the earlier year.

Will the lump-sum election method lower your taxable benefits?

To find out, take the following steps.

Complete Worksheet 1 in this publication.

Complete Worksheet 2 and Worksheet 3, as appropriate. Use Worksheet 2 if your lump-sum payment was for a year after 1993. Use Worksheet 3 if it was for 1993 or an earlier year. Complete a separate Worksheet 2 or Worksheet 3 for each earlier year for which you received the lump-sum payment.

Complete Worksheet 4.

Compare the taxable benefits on line﻿ ﻿19 of Worksheet 1 with the taxable benefits on line﻿ ﻿21 of Worksheet 4.

If the taxable benefits on Worksheet 4 are lower than the taxable benefits on Worksheet 1, you can elect to report the lower amount on your return.

Making the election.

If you elect to report your taxable benefits under the lump-sum election method, follow the instructions at the bottom of Worksheet 4. Don’t attach the completed worksheets to your return. Keep them with your records.

CautionOnce you elect this method of figuring the taxable part of a lump-sum payment, you can revoke your election only with the consent of the IRS.

Lump-sum payment reported on Form SSA-1099 or RRB-1099.

If you received a lump-sum payment in 2023 that includes benefits for one or more earlier years after 1983, it will be included in box 3 of either Form SSA-1099 or RRB-1099. That part of any lump-sum payment for years before 1984 isn’t taxed and won’t be shown on the form. The form will also show the year (or years) the payment is for. However, Form RRB-1099 will not show a breakdown by year (or years) of any lump-sum payment for years before 2017. You must contact the RRB for a breakdown by year for any amount shown in box 9.

Example

Jane Jackson is single. In 2022, she applied for social security disability benefits but was told she was ineligible. She appealed the decision and won. In 2023, she received a lump-sum payment of $6,000, of which $2,000 was for 2022 and $4,000 was for 2023. Jane also received $5,000 in social security benefits in 2023, so her total benefits in 2023 were $11,000. Jane's other income for 2022 and 2023 is as follows.

Income

2022

2023

Wages

$20,000

$3,500

Interest income

2,000

2,500

Dividend income

1,000

1,500

Fully taxable pension

18,000

Total

 $23,000

$25,500

To see if the lump-sum election method results in lower taxable benefits, she completes Worksheets 1, 2, and 4 from this publication. She doesn’t need to complete Worksheet 3 because her lump-sum payment was for years after 1993.

Jane completes Worksheet 1 to find the amount of her taxable benefits for 2023 under the regular method. She completes Worksheet 2 to find the taxable part of the lump-sum payment for 2022 under the lump-sum election method. She completes Worksheet 4 to decide if the lump-sum election method will lower her taxable benefits.

After completing the worksheets, Jane compares the amounts from Worksheet 4, line﻿ ﻿21; and Worksheet 1, line﻿ ﻿19. Because the amount on Worksheet 4 is smaller, she chooses to use the lump-sum election method. To do this, she prints “LSE” to the left of Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line﻿ ﻿6a. She then enters $11,000 on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line﻿ ﻿6a, and her taxable benefits of $2,500 on line﻿ ﻿6b.

Jane's filled-in worksheets (1, 2, and 4) follow.

Keep for Your Records Keep for Your Records

Jane Jackson's Filled-in Worksheet 1. Figuring Your Taxable Benefits

Before you begin:

If you are married filing separately and you lived apart from your spouse for all of 2023, enter “D” to the right of the word “benefits” on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line﻿ ﻿6a.

Don’t use this worksheet if you repaid benefits in 2023 and your total repayments (box 4 of Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099) were more than your gross benefits for 2023 (box 3 of Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099). None of your benefits are taxable for 2023. For more information, see Repayments More Than Gross Benefits.

If you are filing Form 8815, Exclusion of Interest From Series EE and I U.S. Savings Bonds Issued After 1989, don’t include the amount from line﻿ ﻿2b of Form 1040 or 1040-SR on line﻿ ﻿3 of this worksheet. Instead, include the amount from Schedule﻿ ﻿B (Form 1040), line﻿ ﻿2.

 1.

Enter the total amount from box 5 of ALL your Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099. Also enter this amount on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line﻿ ﻿6a

 1.

$11,000

 2.

Multiply line﻿ ﻿1 by 50% (0.50)

 2.

5,500

 3.

Combine the amounts from Form 1040 or 1040-SR, lines 1z, 2b, 3b, 4b, 5b, 7, and 8

 3.

25,500

 4.

Enter the amount, if any, from Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line﻿ ﻿2a

 4.

-0-

 5.

Enter the total of any exclusions/adjustments for:

Adoption benefits (Form 8839, line﻿ ﻿28),

Foreign earned income or housing (Form 2555, lines 45 and 50), and

Certain income of bona fide residents of American Samoa (Form 4563, line﻿ ﻿15) or Puerto Rico

 5.

-0-

 6.

Combine lines 2, 3, 4, and 5 above

 6.

31,000

 7.

 Enter the total of the amounts from Schedule 1 (Form 1040), lines 11 through 20, and 23 and 25

 7.

-0-

 8.

Is the amount on line﻿ ﻿7 less than the amount on line﻿ ﻿6?

No.

None of your social security benefits are taxable. Enter -0- on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line﻿ ﻿6b.

Yes.

 Subtract line﻿ ﻿7 from line﻿ ﻿6

 8.

31,000

 9.

If you are:

Married filing jointly, enter $32,000; or

Single, head of household, qualifying surviving spouse, or married filing separately and you lived apart from your spouse for all of 2023, enter $25,000

 9.

25,000

Note. If you are married filing separately and you lived with your spouse at any time in 2023, skip lines 9 through 16, multiply line﻿ ﻿8 by 85% (0.85), and enter the result on line﻿ ﻿17. Then, go to line﻿ ﻿18.

10.

Is the amount on line﻿ ﻿9 less than the amount on line﻿ ﻿8?

No.

None of your benefits are taxable. Enter -0- on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line﻿ ﻿6b. If you are married filing separately and you lived apart from your spouse for all of 2023, be sure you entered “D” to the right of the word “benefits” on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line﻿ ﻿6a.

Yes.

 Subtract line﻿ ﻿9 from line﻿ ﻿8

10.

6,000

11.

Enter $12,000 if married filing jointly; or $9,000 if single, head of household, qualifying surviving spouse, or married filing separately and you lived apart from your spouse for all of 2023

11.

9,000

12.

Subtract line﻿ ﻿11 from line﻿ ﻿10. If zero or less, enter -0-

12.

-0-

13.

Enter the smaller of line﻿ ﻿10 or line﻿ ﻿11

13.

6,000

14.

Multiply line﻿ ﻿13 by 50% (0.50)

14.

3,000

15.

Enter the smaller of line﻿ ﻿2 or line﻿ ﻿14

15.

3,000

16.

Multiply line﻿ ﻿12 by 85% (0.85). If line﻿ ﻿12 is zero, enter -0-

16.

-0-

17.

Add lines 15 and 16

17.

3,000

18.

Multiply line﻿ ﻿1 by 85% (0.85)

18.

9,350

19.

Taxable benefits. Enter the smaller of line﻿ ﻿17 or line﻿ ﻿18. Also enter this amount on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line﻿ ﻿6b

19.

$3,000

If you received a lump-sum payment in 2023 that was for an earlier year, also complete Worksheet 2 or 3 and Worksheet 4 to see if you can report a lower taxable benefit.

Keep for Your Records Keep for Your Records

Jane Jackson's Filled-in Worksheet 2. Figure Your Additional Taxable Benefits (From a Lump-Sum Payment for a Year After 1993)

Enter earlier year        2022       

 1.

Enter the total amount from box 5 of ALL your Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099 for the earlier year, plus the lump-sum payment for the earlier year received after that year

 1.

$2,000

Note. If line﻿ ﻿1 is zero or less, skip lines 2 through 20 and enter -0- on line﻿ ﻿21. Otherwise, go to line﻿ ﻿2.

 2.

Multiply line﻿ ﻿1 by 50% (0.50)

 2.

1,000

 3.

Enter your adjusted gross income for the earlier year

 3.

23,000

 4.

Enter the total of any exclusions/adjustments you claimed in the earlier year for:

Adoption benefits (Form 8839),

Qualified U.S. savings bond interest (Form 8815),

Student loan interest (Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line﻿ ﻿21),

Foreign earned income or housing (Form 2555), and

Certain income of bona fide residents of American Samoa (Form 4563) or Puerto Rico

 4.

-0-

 5.

Enter any tax-exempt interest received in the earlier year

 5.

-0-

 6.

Add lines 2 through 5

 6.

24,000

 7.

Enter your taxable benefits for the earlier year that you previously reported

 7.

-0-

 8.

Subtract line﻿ ﻿7 from line﻿ ﻿6

 8.

24,000

 9.

If, for the earlier year, you were:

Married filing jointly, enter $32,000; or

Single, head of household, qualifying surviving spouse, married filing separately and you lived apart from your spouse for all of the earlier year, enter $25,000

 9.

25,000

Note. If you were married filing separately and you lived with your spouse at any time during the earlier year, skip lines 9 through 16, multiply line﻿ ﻿8 by 85% (0.85), and enter the result on line﻿ ﻿17. Then, go to line﻿ ﻿18.

10.

Is the amount on line﻿ ﻿8 more than the amount on line﻿ ﻿9?

  No.  Skip lines 10 through 20 and enter -0- on line﻿ ﻿21.

  Yes. Subtract line﻿ ﻿9 from line﻿ ﻿8

10.

11.

Enter $12,000 if married filing jointly for the earlier year; or $9,000 if single, head of household, qualifying surviving spouse, or married filing separately and you lived apart from your spouse for all of the earlier year

11.

12.

Subtract line﻿ ﻿11 from line﻿ ﻿10. If zero or less, enter -0-

12.

13.

Enter the smaller of line﻿ ﻿10 or line﻿ ﻿11

13.

14.

Multiply line﻿ ﻿13 by 50% (0.50)

14.

15.

Enter the smaller of line﻿ ﻿2 or line﻿ ﻿14

15.

16.

Multiply line﻿ ﻿12 by 85% (0.85). If line﻿ ﻿12 is zero, enter -0-

16.

17.

Add lines 15 and 16

17.

18.

Multiply line﻿ ﻿1 by 85% (0.85)

18.

19.

Refigured taxable benefits. Enter the smaller of line﻿ ﻿17 or line﻿ ﻿18

19.

20.

Enter your taxable benefits for the earlier year (or as refigured due to a previous lump-sum payment for the year)

20.

21.

Additional taxable benefits. Subtract line﻿ ﻿20 from line﻿ ﻿19. Also enter this amount on Worksheet 4, line﻿ ﻿20

21.

-0-

Don’t file an amended return for this earlier year. Complete a separate Worksheet 2 or Worksheet 3 for each earlier year for which you received a lump-sum payment in 2023.

Keep for Your Records Keep for Your Records

Jane Jackson's Filled-in Worksheet 4. Figure Your Taxable Benefits Under the Lump-Sum Election Method (Use With Worksheet 2 or 3)

Complete Worksheet 1 and Worksheets 2 and 3 as appropriate before completing this worksheet.

 1.

Enter the total amount from box 5 of ALL your Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099 for 2023, minus the lump-sum payment for years before 2023

 1.

$9,000

Note. If line﻿ ﻿1 is zero or less, skip lines 2 through 18, enter -0- on line﻿ ﻿19, and go to line﻿ ﻿20. Otherwise, go to line﻿ ﻿2.

 2.

Multiply line﻿ ﻿1 by 50% (0.50)

 2.

4,500

 3.

Enter the amount from Worksheet 1, line﻿ ﻿3

 3.

25,500

 4.

Enter the amount from Worksheet 1, line﻿ ﻿4

 4.

-0-

 5.

Enter the amount from Worksheet 1, line﻿ ﻿5

 5.

-0-

 6.

Combine lines 2, 3, 4, and 5 above

 6.

30,000

 7.

Enter the amount from Worksheet 1, line﻿ ﻿7

 7.

-0-

 8.

Subtract line﻿ ﻿7 from line﻿ ﻿6

 8.

30,000

 9.

Enter the amount from Worksheet 1, line﻿ ﻿9. But if you are married filing separately and lived with your spouse at any time during 2023, skip lines 9 through 16, multiply line﻿ ﻿8 by 85% (0.85), and enter the result on line﻿ ﻿17. Then, go to line﻿ ﻿18

 9.

25,000

10.

Is the amount on line﻿ ﻿8 more than the amount on line﻿ ﻿9?
  No.  Skip lines 10 through 18, enter -0- on line﻿ ﻿19, and go to line﻿ ﻿20.
  Yes. Subtract line﻿ ﻿9 from line﻿ ﻿8

10.

5,000

11.

Enter the amount from Worksheet 1, line﻿ ﻿11

11.

9,000

12.

Subtract line﻿ ﻿11 from line﻿ ﻿10. If zero or less, enter -0-

12.

-0-

13.

Enter the smaller of line﻿ ﻿10 or line﻿ ﻿11

13.

5,000

14.

Multiply line﻿ ﻿13 by 50% (0.50)

14.

2,500

15.

Enter the smaller of line﻿ ﻿2 or line﻿ ﻿14

15.

2,500

16.

Multiply line﻿ ﻿12 by 85% (0.85). If line﻿ ﻿12 is zero, enter -0-

16.

-0-

17.

Add lines 15 and 16

17.

2,500

18.

Multiply line﻿ ﻿1 by 85% (0.85)

18.

7,650

19.

Enter the smaller of line﻿ ﻿17 or line﻿ ﻿18

19.

2,500

20.

Enter the total of the amounts from Worksheet 2, line﻿ ﻿21, and Worksheet 3, line﻿ ﻿14, for all earlier years for which the lump-sum payment was received

20.

-0-

21.

Taxable benefits under lump-sum election method. Add lines 19 and 20

21.

$2,500

Next. Is line﻿ ﻿21 above smaller than Worksheet 1, line﻿ ﻿19?
  No. Don’t use this method to figure your taxable benefits. Follow the instructions on Worksheet 1 to report your benefits.
  Yes. You can elect to report your taxable benefits under this method. To elect this method, do the following.

Enter “LSE” to the left of Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line﻿ ﻿6a.

If line﻿ ﻿21 above is zero, follow the instructions on line﻿ ﻿10 for “No” on Worksheet 1. Otherwise:

Enter the amount from Worksheet 1, line﻿ ﻿1, on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line﻿ ﻿6a;

Enter the amount from line﻿ ﻿21 above on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line﻿ ﻿6b; and

If you are married filing separately and you lived apart from your spouse for all of 2023, enter “D” to the right of the word “benefits” on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line﻿ ﻿6a.

Deductions Related to Your Benefits

You may be entitled to deduct certain amounts related to the benefits you receive.

Disability payments.

You may have received disability payments from your employer or an insurance company that you included as income on your tax return in an earlier year. If you received a lump-sum payment from the SSA or RRB, and you had to repay the employer or insurance company for the disability payments, you can take an itemized deduction for the part of the payments you included in gross income in the earlier year. If the amount you repay is more than $3,000, you may be able to claim a tax credit instead. Claim the deduction or credit in the same way explained under Repayment of benefits received in an earlier year under Repayments More Than Gross Benefits next.

Repayments More Than Gross Benefits

In some situations, your Form SSA-1099 or RRB-1099 will show that the total benefits you repaid (box 4) are more than the gross benefits (box 3) you received. If this occurred, your net benefits in box 5 will be a negative figure (a figure in parentheses) and none of your benefits will be taxable. Don’t use Worksheet 1 in this case. If you receive more than one form, a negative figure in box 5 of one form is used to offset a positive figure in box 5 of another form for that same year.

If you have any questions about this negative figure, contact your local SSA office or your local RRB field office.

Joint return.

If you and your spouse file a joint return, and your Form SSA-1099 or RRB-1099 has a negative figure in box 5, but your spouse's doesn’t, subtract the amount in box 5 of your form from the amount in box 5 of your spouse's form. You do this to get your net benefits when figuring if your combined benefits are taxable.

Example. John and Mary file a joint return for 2023. John received Form SSA-1099 showing $3,000 in box 5. Mary also received Form SSA-1099 and the amount in box 5 was ($500). John and Mary will use $2,500 ($3,000 minus $500) as the amount of their net benefits when figuring if any of their combined benefits are taxable.

Repayment of benefits received in an earlier year.

If the total amount shown in box 5 of all of your Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099 is a negative figure, you may be able to deduct part of this negative figure that represents benefits you included in gross income in an earlier year, if the figure is more than $3,000. If the figure is $3,000 or less, it is a miscellaneous itemized deduction and can no longer be deducted.

Deduction more than $3,000.

If this deduction is more than $3,000, you should figure your tax two ways.

Figure your tax for 2023 with the itemized deduction included on Schedule﻿ ﻿A (Form 1040), line 16.

Figure your tax for 2023 in the following steps.

Figure the tax without the itemized deduction included on Schedule﻿ ﻿A (Form 1040), line 16.

For each year after 1983 for which part of the negative figure represents a repayment of benefits, refigure your taxable benefits as if your total benefits for the year were reduced by that part of the negative figure. Then, refigure the tax for that year.

Subtract the total of the refigured tax amounts in (b) from the total of your actual tax amounts.

Subtract the result in (c) from the result in (a).

Compare the tax figured in methods 1 and 2. Your tax for 2023 is the smaller of the two amounts. If method 1 results in less tax, take the itemized deduction on Schedule﻿ ﻿A (Form 1040), line﻿ ﻿16. If method 2 results in less tax, claim a credit for the amount from step﻿ ﻿2c above on Schedule 3 (Form 1040), line﻿ ﻿13z. Enter “I.R.C. 1341” on the entry line. If both methods produce the same tax, deduct the repayment on Schedule﻿ ﻿A (Form 1040), line﻿ ﻿16.

Worksheets

Blank Worksheets 1 through 4 are provided in this section.

Worksheet 1, Figuring Your Taxable Benefits.

Worksheet 2, Figure Your Additional Taxable Benefits (From a Lump-Sum Payment for a Year After 1993).

Worksheet 3, Figure Your Additional Taxable Benefits (From a Lump-Sum Payment for a Year Before 1994).

Worksheet 4, Figure Your Taxable Benefits Under the Lump-Sum Election Method (Use With Worksheet 2 or 3).

Keep for Your Records Keep for Your Records

Worksheet 1. Figuring Your Taxable Benefits

Before you begin:

If you are married filing separately and you lived apart from your spouse for all of 2023, enter “D” to the right of the word “benefits” on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line﻿ ﻿6a.

Don’t use this worksheet if you repaid benefits in 2023 and your total repayments (box 4 of Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099) were more than your gross benefits for 2023 (box 3 of Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099). None of your benefits are taxable for 2023. For more information, see Repayments More Than Gross Benefits.

If you are filing Form 8815, Exclusion of Interest From Series EE and I U.S. Savings Bonds Issued After 1989, don’t include the amount from line﻿ ﻿2b of Form 1040 or 1040-SR on line﻿ ﻿3 of this worksheet. Instead, include the amount from Schedule﻿ ﻿B (Form 1040), line﻿ ﻿2.

 1.

Enter the total amount from box 5 of ALL your Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099. Also enter this amount on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line﻿ ﻿6a

 1.

 2.

Multiply line﻿ ﻿1 by 50% (0.50)

 2.

 3.

Combine the amounts from Form 1040 or 1040-SR, lines 1z, 2b, 3b, 4b, 5b, 7, and 8

 3.

 4.

Enter the amount, if any, from Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line﻿ ﻿2a

 4.

 5.

Enter the total of any exclusions/adjustments for:

Adoption benefits (Form 8839, line﻿ ﻿28),

Foreign earned income or housing (Form 2555, lines 45 and 50), and

Certain income of bona fide residents of American Samoa (Form 4563, line﻿ ﻿15) or Puerto Rico

 5.

 6.

Combine lines 2, 3, 4, and 5 above

 6.

 7.

 Enter the total of the amounts from Schedule 1 (Form 1040), lines 11 through 20, and 23 and 25

 7.

 8.

Is the amount on line﻿ ﻿7 less than the amount on line﻿ ﻿6?

No.

None of your social security benefits are taxable. Enter -0- on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line﻿ ﻿6b.

Yes.

 Subtract line﻿ ﻿7 from line﻿ ﻿6

 8.

 9.

If you are:

Married filing jointly, enter $32,000; or

Single, head of household, qualifying surviving spouse, or married filing separately and you lived apart from your spouse for all of 2023, enter $25,000

 9.

Note. If you are married filing separately and you lived with your spouse at any time in 2023, skip lines 9 through 16, multiply line﻿ ﻿8 by 85% (0.85), and enter the result on line﻿ ﻿17. Then, go to line﻿ ﻿18.

10.

Is the amount on line﻿ ﻿9 less than the amount on line﻿ ﻿8?

No.

None of your benefits are taxable. Enter -0- on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line﻿ ﻿6b. If you are married filing separately and you lived apart from your spouse for all of 2023, be sure you entered “D” to the right of the word “benefits” on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line﻿ ﻿6a.

Yes.

 Subtract line﻿ ﻿9 from line﻿ ﻿8

10.

11.

Enter $12,000 if married filing jointly; or $9,000 if single, head of household, qualifying surviving spouse, or married filing separately and you lived apart from your spouse for all of 2023

11.

12.

Subtract line﻿ ﻿11 from line﻿ ﻿10. If zero or less, enter -0-

12.

13.

Enter the smaller of line﻿ ﻿10 or line﻿ ﻿11

13.

14.

Multiply line﻿ ﻿13 by 50% (0.50)

14.

15.

Enter the smaller of line﻿ ﻿2 or line﻿ ﻿14

15.

16.

Multiply line﻿ ﻿12 by 85% (0.85). If line﻿ ﻿12 is zero, enter -0-

16.

17.

Add lines 15 and 16

17.

18.

Multiply line﻿ ﻿1 by 85% (0.85)

18.

19.

Taxable benefits. Enter the smaller of line﻿ ﻿17 or line﻿ ﻿18. Also enter this amount on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line﻿ ﻿6b

19.

If you received a lump-sum payment in 2023 that was for an earlier year, also complete Worksheet 2 or 3 and Worksheet 4 to see if you can report a lower taxable benefit.

Keep for Your Records Keep for Your Records

Worksheet 2. Figure Your Additional Taxable Benefits (From a Lump-Sum Payment for a Year After 1993)

Enter earlier year               

 1.

Enter the total amount from box 5 of ALL your Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099 for the earlier year, plus the lump-sum payment for the earlier year received after that year

 1.

Note. If line﻿ ﻿1 is zero or less, skip lines 2 through 20 and enter -0- on line﻿ ﻿21. Otherwise, go to line﻿ ﻿2.

 2.

Multiply line﻿ ﻿1 by 50% (0.50)

 2.

 3.

Enter your adjusted gross income for the earlier year

 3.

 4.

Enter the total of any exclusions/adjustments you claimed in the earlier year for:

Adoption benefits (Form 8839),

Qualified U.S. savings bond interest (Form 8815),

Student loan interest (for 2020, 2019, and 2018, Schedule 1 (Form 1040); for years before 2018, Form 1040 or Form 1040A, page 1),

Tuition and fees (for 2020, 2019, and 2018, Schedule 1 (Form 1040); for years before 2018, Form 1040 or Form 1040A, page 1),

Domestic production activities (for 2005 through 2017) (Form 1040, page 1),

Foreign earned income or housing (Form 2555 or 2555-EZ), and

Certain income of bona fide residents of American Samoa (Form 4563) or Puerto Rico

 4.

 5.

Enter any tax-exempt interest received in the earlier year

 5.

 6.

Add lines 2 through 5

 6.

 7.

Enter your taxable benefits for the earlier year that you previously reported

 7.

 8.

Subtract line﻿ ﻿7 from line﻿ ﻿6

 8.

 9.

If, for the earlier year, you were:

Married filing jointly, enter $32,000; or

Single, head of household, qualifying surviving spouse, married filing separately and you lived apart from your spouse for all of the earlier year, enter $25,000

 9.

Note. If you were married filing separately and you lived with your spouse at any time during the earlier year, skip lines 9 through 16, multiply line﻿ ﻿8 by 85% (0.85), and enter the result on line﻿ ﻿17. Then, go to line﻿ ﻿18.

10.

Is the amount on line﻿ ﻿8 more than the amount on line﻿ ﻿9?

  No.  Skip lines 10 through 20 and enter -0- on line﻿ ﻿21.

  Yes. Subtract line﻿ ﻿9 from line﻿ ﻿8

10.

11.

Enter $12,000 if married filing jointly for the earlier year; or $9,000 if single, head of household, qualifying surviving spouse, or married filing separately and you lived apart from your spouse for all of the earlier year

11.

12.

Subtract line﻿ ﻿11 from line﻿ ﻿10. If zero or less, enter -0-

12.

13.

Enter the smaller of line﻿ ﻿10 or line﻿ ﻿11

13.

14.

Multiply line﻿ ﻿13 by 50% (0.50)

14.

15.

Enter the smaller of line﻿ ﻿2 or line﻿ ﻿14

15.

16.

Multiply line﻿ ﻿12 by 85% (0.85). If line﻿ ﻿12 is zero, enter -0-

16.

17.

Add lines 15 and 16

17.

18.

Multiply line﻿ ﻿1 by 85% (0.85)

18.

19.

Refigured taxable benefits. Enter the smaller of line﻿ ﻿17 or line﻿ ﻿18

19.

20.

Enter your taxable benefits for the earlier year (or as refigured due to a previous lump-sum payment for the year)

20.

21.

Additional taxable benefits. Subtract line﻿ ﻿20 from line﻿ ﻿19. Also enter this amount on Worksheet 4, line﻿ ﻿20

21.

Don’t file an amended return for this earlier year. Complete a separate Worksheet 2 or Worksheet 3 for each earlier year for which you received a lump-sum payment in 2023.

Keep for Your Records Keep for Your Records

Worksheet 3. Figure Your Additional Taxable Benefits (From a Lump-Sum Payment for a Year Before 1994)

Enter earlier year               

 1.

Enter the total amount from box 5 of ALL your Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099 for the earlier year, plus the lump-sum payment for the earlier year received after that year

 1.

Note. If line﻿ ﻿1 is zero or less, skip lines 2 through 13 and enter -0- on line﻿ ﻿14. Otherwise, go to line﻿ ﻿2.

 2.

Multiply line﻿ ﻿1 by 50% (0.50)

 2.

 3.

Enter your adjusted gross income for the earlier year

 3.

 4.

Enter the total of any exclusions/adjustments you claimed in the earlier year for:

Qualified U.S. savings bond interest (Form 8815),

Foreign earned income or housing (Form 2555 or 2555-EZ), and

Certain income of bona fide residents of American Samoa (Form 4563) or Puerto Rico

 4.

 5.

Enter any tax-exempt interest received in the earlier year

 5.

 6.

Add lines 2 through 5

 6.

 7.

Enter your taxable benefits for the earlier year that you previously reported

 7.

 8.

Subtract line﻿ ﻿7 from line﻿ ﻿6

 8.

 9.

Enter $25,000 ($32,000 if married filing jointly for the earlier year; or -0- if married filing separately for the earlier year and you lived with your spouse at any time during the earlier year)

 9.

10.

Is the amount on line﻿ ﻿8 more than the amount on line﻿ ﻿9?
  No.  Skip lines 10 through 13 and enter -0- on line﻿ ﻿14.
  Yes. Subtract line﻿ ﻿9 from line﻿ ﻿8

10.

11.

Multiply line﻿ ﻿10 by 50% (0.50)

11.

12.

Refigured taxable benefits. Enter the smaller of line﻿ ﻿2 or line﻿ ﻿11

12.

13.

Enter your taxable benefits for the earlier year (or as refigured due to a previous lump-sum payment for the year)

13.

14.

Additional taxable benefits. Subtract line﻿ ﻿13 from line﻿ ﻿12. Also enter this amount on Worksheet 4, line﻿ ﻿20

14.

Don’t file an amended return for this earlier year. Complete a separate Worksheet 2 or Worksheet 3 for each earlier year for which you received a lump-sum payment in 2023.

Keep for Your Records Keep for Your Records

Worksheet 4. Figure Your Taxable Benefits Under the Lump-Sum Election Method (Use With Worksheet 2 or 3)

Complete Worksheet 1 and Worksheets 2 and 3 as appropriate before completing this worksheet.

 1.

Enter the total amount from box 5 of ALL your Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099 for 2023, minus the lump-sum payment for years before 2023

 1.

Note. If line﻿ ﻿1 is zero or less, skip lines 2 through 18, enter -0- on line﻿ ﻿19, and go to line﻿ ﻿20. Otherwise, go to line﻿ ﻿2.

 2.

Multiply line﻿ ﻿1 by 50% (0.50)

 2.

 3.

Enter the amount from Worksheet 1, line﻿ ﻿3

 3.

 4.

Enter the amount from Worksheet 1, line﻿ ﻿4

 4.

 5.

Enter the amount from Worksheet 1, line﻿ ﻿5

 5.

 6.

Combine lines 2, 3, 4, and 5

 6.

 7.

Enter the amount from Worksheet 1, line﻿ ﻿7

 7.

 8.

Subtract line﻿ ﻿7 from line﻿ ﻿6

 8.

 9.

Enter the amount from Worksheet 1, line﻿ ﻿9. But if you are married filing separately and lived with your spouse at any time during 2023, skip lines 9 through 16, multiply line﻿ ﻿8 by 85% (0.85), and enter the result on line﻿ ﻿17. Then, go to line﻿ ﻿18

 9.

10.

Is the amount on line﻿ ﻿8 more than the amount on line﻿ ﻿9?
  No.  Skip lines 10 through 18, enter -0- on line﻿ ﻿19, and go to line﻿ ﻿20.
  Yes. Subtract line﻿ ﻿9 from line﻿ ﻿8

10.

11.

Enter the amount from Worksheet 1, line﻿ ﻿11

11.

12.

Subtract line﻿ ﻿11 from line﻿ ﻿10. If zero or less, enter -0-

12.

13.

Enter the smaller of line﻿ ﻿10 or line﻿ ﻿11

13.

14.

Multiply line﻿ ﻿13 by 50% (0.50)

14.

15.

Enter the smaller of line﻿ ﻿2 or line﻿ ﻿14

15.

16.

Multiply line﻿ ﻿12 by 85% (0.85). If line﻿ ﻿12 is zero, enter -0-

16.

17.

Add lines 15 and 16

17.

18.

Multiply line﻿ ﻿1 by 85% (0.85)

18.

19.

Enter the smaller of line﻿ ﻿17 or line﻿ ﻿18

19.

20.

Enter the total of the amounts from Worksheet 2, line﻿ ﻿21, and Worksheet 3, line﻿ ﻿14, for all earlier years for which the lump-sum payment was received

20.

21.

Taxable benefits under lump-sum election method. Add lines 19 and 20

21.

Next. Is line﻿ ﻿21 above smaller than Worksheet 1, line﻿ ﻿19?
  No. Don’t use this method to figure your taxable benefits. Follow the instructions on Worksheet 1 to report your benefits.
  Yes. You can elect to report your taxable benefits under this method. To elect this method, do the following.

Enter “LSE” to the left of Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line﻿ ﻿6a.

If line﻿ ﻿21 above is zero, follow the instructions on line﻿ ﻿10 for “No” on Worksheet 1. Otherwise:

Enter the amount from Worksheet 1, line﻿ ﻿1, on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line﻿ ﻿6a;

Enter the amount from line﻿ ﻿21 above on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line﻿ ﻿6b; and

If you are married filing separately and you lived apart from your spouse for all of 2023, enter “D” to the right of the word “benefits” on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line﻿ ﻿6a.

Appendix

This appendix explains items shown on Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099. Forms SSA-1042S and RRB-1042S, for nonresident aliens, contain the same items plus a few additional ones. These are also explained.

The illustrated versions of Form SSA-1099, SSA-1042S, RRB-1099, and RRB-1042S in this appendix are proof copies of the forms as they appeared when this publication went to print. The information on the illustrated forms should essentially be the same as the information on the form you received from either the SSA or the RRB. You should, however, compare the form you received with the one shown in this publication to note any differences.

Form SSA-1099, Social Security Benefit Statement 2023

Every person who received social security benefits will receive a Form SSA-1099. If you receive benefits on more than one social security record, you may get more than one Form SSA-1099. IRS Notice 703 will be enclosed with this form. It contains a worksheet to help you figure if any of your benefits are taxable. Don’t mail Notice 703 to either the IRS or the SSA.

Box 1—Name

The name shown in this box refers to the person for whom the social security benefits shown on the statement were paid. If you received benefits for yourself, your name will be shown.

Box 2—Beneficiary's Social Security Number

This is the U.S. social security number, if known, of the person named in box 1.

In all your correspondence with the SSA, be sure to use the claim number shown in box 8.

Box 3—Benefits Paid in 2023

The figure shown in this box is the total benefits paid in 2023 to you (the person named in box 1). This figure may not agree with the amounts you actually received because adjustments may have been made to your benefits before you received them. An asterisk (*) after the figure shown in this box means that it includes benefits received in 2023 for one or more earlier years.

Description of Amount in Box 3

This part of the form describes the items included in the amount shown in box 3. It lists the benefits paid and any adjustments made. Only the adjustments that apply to you will be shown. If no adjustments were made to the benefits paid, the word “none” will be shown.

Paid by check or direct deposit.

This is the amount you actually received or that was deposited directly into your account in a financial institution in 2023.

Additions.

The following adjustment items may have been deducted from your benefits in 2023. If amounts appear on your Form SSA-1099 next to these items, they will be added to the amount shown in “Paid by check or direct deposit.”

TipDon’t reduce the amount of net social security benefits (box 5) by any of the items listed below. Use the amount in box 5 to figure taxable social security.

Medicare premiums deducted from your benefits.

If you have Medicare premiums deducted from your benefits, this is the amount withheld during 2023. The basic monthly premium in 2023 was $164.90 for most people, but it could be higher if you were a new enrollee in 2023, you enrolled after you were first eligible, you had a break in coverage, or the modified adjusted gross income shown on your 2021 federal income tax return is greater than $97,000 ($194,000 if married filing jointly).

Medicare Part C, Medicare Advantage Premium; and Medicare Part D, Prescription Drug Premium, are other Medicare deductions you may have. These premiums may vary.

Workers' compensation offset.

If you are disabled and receive workers' compensation or Part C Black Lung payments, your benefits are subject to a payment limit. An entry will be shown here if your benefits were reduced to stay within this limit. An entry will also be shown here if your benefits were reduced because the person on whose social security record you were paid is disabled and also received workers' compensation or Part C Black Lung payments.

Disability payments (including Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) payments).

These payments are generally not included in income if they are for injuries incurred as a direct result of a terrorist attack directed against the United States or its allies. If these payments are incorrectly reported as taxable on Form SSA-1099, don't include the nontaxable portion of income on your tax return. You may receive a notice from the IRS regarding the omitted payments. Follow the instructions in the notice to explain that the excluded payments aren't taxable. For more information about these payments, see Pub. 3920, Tax Relief for Victims of Terrorist Attacks.

Paid to another family member.

This entry shows total payments withheld from your benefits if you are required to pay child support or alimony.

Deductions for work or other adjustments.

Amounts withheld from your benefits because of work or to recover an overpayment of any type of benefit are benefits paid to you and will be shown here. They may also be treated as benefits repaid to the SSA and included in the amount in box 4.

Attorney fees.

If you had an attorney handle your social security claim, the figure shown here is the fee withheld from your benefits and paid directly to your attorney.

Voluntary federal income tax withheld.

This shows the total amount of federal income tax withheld from your benefits. Include this amount on your income tax return as tax withheld.

Treasury benefit payment offset, garnishment, and/or tax levy.

Part of your Title II Social Security benefit may be withheld on behalf of the Treasury Department to recover debts you owe to other federal agencies; part of your Title II Social Security benefits may be withheld to pay child support, alimony, or court-ordered victim restitution; and/or part of your Title II Social Security benefits may be withheld to pay your debt to the IRS.

Total additions.

The figure shown here is the sum of the amounts paid by check or direct deposit plus all the additions described previously.

Subtractions.

The following adjustment items may have been included in the payments you received in 2023. If amounts appear on your Form SSA-1099 next to these items, they will be subtracted from the figure in Total Additions.

Payments for months before December 1983.

The figure shown here is the amount of benefits you received in 2023 that was for months before December 1983. These benefits aren’t taxable no matter when they are paid.

Lump-sum death payment.

The lump-sum death payment isn’t subject to tax. An entry here means you received this kind of payment in 2023.

Amounts refunded to you.

The amount shown here may include Medicare premiums you paid in excess of the amount actually due. It may also include amounts withheld in 2023 to pay your attorney in excess of the fee actually paid.

Nontaxable payments.

This entry shows nontaxable payments such as lump-sum death payments.

Amounts paid to you for other family members.

This entry shows benefit payments paid to you on behalf of a minor child or disabled adult.

Total subtractions.

The figure shown here is the sum of all the subtractions described previously.

Benefits for 2023.

The amount shown here is the result of subtracting the figure in Total subtractions, earlier, from the figure in Total additions, earlier. This amount is the same as that shown in box 3.

*Box 3 includes $     paid in 2023 for 2022, 2021, and other tax years.

The figure shown here is the amount of any lump-sum benefit payment received in 2023 that is for an earlier year after 1983. See Lump-Sum Election, earlier, for a full discussion on how these payments are handled.

Box 4—Benefits Repaid to SSA in 2023

The figure shown in this box is the total amount of benefits you repaid to the SSA in 2023.

Description of Amount in Box 4

This part of the form describes the items included in the amount shown in box 4. It lists the amount of benefit checks you returned to the SSA and any adjustments for other types of repayments. The amounts listed include all amounts repaid in 2023, no matter when the benefits were received. Only the repayments that apply to you will be shown. If you didn’t make any repayments, the word “none” will be shown.

Checks returned to the SSA.

If any of your benefit checks were returned to the SSA, the total is shown here.

Deductions for work or other adjustments.

If any amounts were withheld from your benefits because of work or to recover an overpayment of retirement, survivors, or disability benefits, the total will be shown here. This may also be shown as Deductions for work or other adjustments under Description of Amount in Box 3, earlier.

Other repayments.

This is the amount you repaid to the SSA by direct remittance.

Benefits repaid to the SSA in 2023.

The amount shown here is the sum of all your repayments. This total is the same as that shown in box 4.

Box 5—Net Benefits for 2023 (Box 3 Minus Box 4)

The figure in this box is the net benefits paid to you for the year. It is the result of subtracting the figure in box 4 from the figure in box 3. Enter this amount on line A of IRS Notice 703, or on line﻿ ﻿1 of Worksheet 1, or on the worksheet in the Instructions for Form 1040.

If parentheses are around the figure in box 5, it means that the figure in box 4 is larger than the figure in box 3. This is a negative figure and means you repaid more money than you received in 2023. If you have any questions about this negative figure, contact your local SSA office. For more information, see Repayments More Than Gross Benefits, earlier.

Box 6—Voluntary Federal Income Tax Withheld

This shows the total amount of federal income tax withheld from your benefits. Include this amount on your income tax return as tax withheld.

Form SSA-1042S, Social Security Benefit Statement 2023 (Nonresident Aliens)

This form is for nonresident aliens. It contains the following four additional items that don’t appear on Form SSA-1099.

Box 6—Rate of Tax

This is the rate at which tax was withheld from 85% of your benefits. If tax was withheld at more than one rate during the year, the percentage shown will be the tax rate in December 2023. The tax rate for most nonresident aliens is 30%. If you are a resident of Switzerland, your total benefit amount will be taxed at a 15% rate. The figure “0” will appear in this box if you were not taxed in December or if you were exempt under a tax treaty. Benefits received by residents of Canada, Egypt, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Romania, and the United Kingdom are exempt from U.S. tax.

Under a treaty with India, benefits paid to individuals who are both residents and nationals of India are exempt from U.S. tax if the benefits are for services performed for the United States, its subdivisions, or local government authorities. See Pub. 519 for more information on nonresident aliens.

Box 7—Amount of Tax Withheld

This is the amount of tax taken out of your social security checks. Tax is withheld for any month in which you were a nonresident alien (unless you were exempt under a tax treaty).

Box 8—Amount of Tax Refunded

An amount in this box shows any tax the SSA refunded to you. When the SSA withholds tax from your checks by mistake, they try to return it to you during the same calendar year. If the SSA is unable to send the refund to you before the year ends, you must file a federal income tax return to get a refund of this tax.

Box 9—Net Tax Withheld During 2023 (Box 7 Minus Box 8)

The figure in this box is the result of subtracting the figure in box 8 from the figure in box 7. This is the net amount of tax withheld from your benefits.

Form RRB-1099, Payments by the Railroad Retirement Board 2023

This section explains the items shown on Form RRB-1099. Form RRB-1099 is issued to citizens and residents of the United States. If you received, repaid, or had tax withheld from the SSEB portion of tier 1 railroad retirement benefits or special guaranty benefits during 2023, you will receive Form RRB-1099.

If you received, repaid, or had tax withheld from any NSSEB portion of tier 1 benefits, tier 2 benefits, vested dual benefits, or supplemental annuity benefits during 2023, you will receive Form RRB-1099-R, Annuities or Pensions by the Railroad Retirement Board. For more information concerning Form RRB-1099-R, see Pub. 575.

Each beneficiary will receive their own Form RRB-1099. If you receive benefits on more than one railroad retirement record, you may get more than one Form RRB-1099. To help ensure that you get your form timely, make sure the RRB always has your current mailing address.

Box 1—Claim Number and Payee Code

Your RRB claim number is a 6- or 9-digit number preceded by an alphabetical prefix and is the number under which the SSEB portion of tier 1 benefits or special guaranty benefits was paid. Your payee code is the number following your claim number and is used by the RRB to identify you under your claim number. In all your contacts with the RRB, be sure to use the claim number and payee code shown in this box.

Box 2—Recipient's Identification Number

This is the U.S. social security number (SSN), individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN), or employer identification number (EIN), if known, for the person or estate listed as the recipient.

Box 3—Gross Social Security Equivalent Benefit Portion of Tier 1 Paid in 2023

The figure shown in this box is the gross SSEB portion of tier 1 benefits or special guaranty benefits paid to you in 2023. It is the amount before any deductions were made for:

Federal income tax withholding;

Medicare premiums;

Legal Process Garnishment payments;

Overall minimum assignment payments;

Recovery of an overpayment, including recovery of Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act benefits received while awaiting payment of your railroad retirement annuity; and

Workers' compensation offset (explained in the description of box 6, later).

The figure in box 3 is the amount after any deductions were made for:

Social security benefits,

Age reduction,

Public service pensions or public disability benefits,

Dual railroad retirement entitlement under another RRB claim number,

Work deductions,

Actuarial adjustment,

Annuity waiver, and

Legal Process Partition payments.

Social security benefits paid through the RRB aren’t reported on Form RRB-1099 or RRB-1042S. They are reported on Form SSA-1099 or SSA-1042S issued by the SSA.

Example 1. For the period January through March 2023, you received $300 ($100 × 3 months) Railroad Unemployment Insurance. You were eligible for the SSEB portion of tier 1 benefits of $509 a month beginning January 1, 2023, but you didn’t receive your first payment until April 2023. The payment you received in April was for the first 3 months of 2023. However, because you received unemployment benefits during the same period, $300 was deducted from your initial benefit payment. Instead of receiving $1,527 ($509 × 3 months), you received $1,227 ($1,527 − $300). For the months of April through November, you were paid your regular monthly SSEB portion of tier 1 benefits of $509. Box 3 of your Form RRB-1099 will show $5,599 ($509 × 11 months) as the gross SSEB portion of tier 1 benefits paid to you in 2023, even though you didn’t actually receive that amount. This is because box 3 shows the gross amount of your benefits before any reductions were made for the unemployment benefits paid to you.

Example 2. You received tier 1 benefits of $600 a month for the months of January through June 2023. Your $600 monthly tier 1 benefits consist of an SSEB portion of $250 and an NSSEB portion of $350. Beginning in July 2023, you became entitled to Medicare, and $164.90 a month was deducted from your benefit checks for Medicare premiums. Therefore, the tier 1 payments you received for the rest of the year were $435.10 ($600 − $164.90) a month. Box 3 of your Form RRB-1099 will show the gross SSEB portion of tier 1 benefits of $3,000 ($250 × 12 months), because it’s the gross SSEB amount before deductions for your Medicare premiums. Box 11 of your Form RRB-1099 will show your Medicare premiums of $989.40 ($164.90 × 6 months) deducted from July through December 2023. The remainder of your tier 1 payments, the NSSEB portion of $4,200 ($350 × 12 months), will be shown on the Form RRB-1099-R that you will receive along with your Form RRB-1099. The $4,200 is the gross NSSEB amount before deductions for your Medicare premiums. (The Medicare Premium Total box shown on your Form RRB-1099-R will be blank because the Medicare total will be shown in box 11 of your Form RRB-1099.) For more information on Form RRB-1099-R, see Pub. 575.

Benefits paid for earlier years.

The figure in box 3 includes any lump-sum benefit payment you received in 2023 that is for an earlier year after 1983. If you received a payment for an earlier year, it will be shown in box 7, 8, or 9 (described later). See Lump-Sum Election, earlier, for information on how to treat the payment.

Box 4—Social Security Equivalent Benefit Portion of Tier 1 Repaid to RRB in 2023

The figure shown in this box is the total SSEB portion of tier 1 benefits you repaid to the RRB in 2023. You may have repaid a benefit by returning a payment, making a cash refund, or having an amount withheld from your payments. In addition, an amount may have been withheld from your benefits to recover the SSEB overpayment incurred by someone else who is also receiving benefits under your claim number. Also, an amount may have been withheld from another benefit, such as a social security benefit, to recover an SSEB overpayment you received.

The amount in box 4 also includes any SSEB benefits you repaid in 2023 that were for 2023 or for 1 or more years before 2023. All tier 1 repayments for years before 1986 are treated entirely as SSEB benefits.

Example 1. You returned to work for your last railroad employer for the months of June through August 2023. The SSEB portion of your tier 1 benefits was $450 for each of those months. Because you aren’t allowed to receive benefits for any month you returned to railroad service, you have to make a repayment to the RRB. You returned the benefit payment for June through August 2023. Box 4 of your Form RRB-1099 will show $1,350 ($450 × 3 months) as the SSEB portion of tier 1 benefits you repaid to the RRB.

Example 2. From January through April 2023, you were overpaid $800 in the SSEB portion of tier 1 benefits. From May through August 2023, $200 a month was withheld from your benefit payment to fully recover the $800 overpayment. Box 4 of your Form RRB-1099 will show $800 ($200 × 4 months) as the SSEB portion of tier 1 benefits you repaid to the RRB.

Example 3. As a retired railroad employee, you have been receiving a railroad retirement annuity, including an SSEB portion of tier 1 benefits, since 2022. You also became entitled to, and received from the SSA, a social security benefit of $300 a month beginning May 1, 2023. The SSA later authorized the RRB to pay that benefit. In August 2023, the RRB began paying your social security benefit to you and reduced the SSEB portion of your monthly tier 1 benefit by $300. Social security benefits of $900 ($300 × 3 months) covering the period May through July 2023 were kept by the RRB to offset your $900 SSEB overpayment for that same period. Box 4 of your Form RRB-1099 will show $900 as the SSEB portion of tier 1 benefits you repaid to the RRB.

Note. The SSA will send you Form SSA-1099, which will include the $900 in benefits paid by them for the months of May through July 2023.

Box 5—Net Social Security Equivalent Benefit Portion of Tier 1 Paid in 2023

The figure shown in this box is the net amount of the SSEB portion of tier 1 benefits paid to you in 2023. It is the result of subtracting the amount in box 4 from the amount in box 3. If you received more than one Form RRB-1099 for 2023, you should add the amounts in box 5 of all Forms RRB-1099 to determine your net amount of SSEB payments for 2023. Use this amount to determine if any of your benefits are taxable. See Are Any of Your Benefits Taxable, earlier.

If parentheses are around the figure in box 5, it means that the figure in box 4 is larger than the figure in box 3. This is a negative figure and means you repaid more money than you received in 2023. For more information, see Repayments More Than Gross Benefits, earlier.

Box 6—Workers' Compensation Offset in 2023

The figure shown in this box is the amount you received in workers' compensation benefits during the year that was used to offset the full amount of your tier 1 payments. The SSEB portions of your tier 1 benefits shown in boxes 3 and 5 include amounts by which your SSEB payments were reduced for workers' compensation benefits. Your workers' compensation amount is shown in this box separately only for your information. If you didn’t receive workers' compensation benefits, box 6 is blank.

Example. For 2023, your tier 1 benefit of $450 a month is reduced to $400 because of a $50-a-month workers' compensation offset. Boxes 3 and 5 of your Form RRB-1099 will show $5,400 ($450 × 12 months) as the SSEB portion of tier 1 benefits paid to you by the RRB. The $5,400 is the amount before any deductions were made for the workers' compensation offset. Box 4 will show zero because you didn’t make any repayments during the year. Box 6 of your form will show $600 ($50 workers' compensation × 12 months). In figuring if any of your benefits are taxable, you must use $5,400 (box 5) as the amount of the SSEB portion of tier 1 benefits paid to you.

Boxes 7 and 8—Social Security Equivalent Benefit Portion of Tier 1 Paid for 2022 or 2021

The figure shown in each applicable box is the amount of SSEB benefits paid to you in 2023 that was for 2022 or 2021. This amount is included in the amount shown in box 3.

Box 9—Social Security Equivalent Benefit Portion of Tier 1 Paid for Years Prior to 2021

The figure shown in this box is the amount of SSEB benefits paid to you in 2023 that was for 2020 and earlier years after 1983. This amount is included in the amount shown in box 3. Any tier 1 benefit paid for a period before 1986 is treated as SSEB.

Box 10—Federal Income Tax Withheld

The figure shown in this box is the total amount of U.S. federal income tax withheld on your 2023 tier 1 SSEB or special guaranty benefit payments. This total is based on the amount of SSEB tax withholding requested on IRS Form W-4V. Include this amount on your income tax return as tax withheld.

Box 11—Medicare Premium Total

This is the total amount of Part B, Part C, and/or Part D Medicare premiums deducted from your railroad retirement annuity payments shown on your Form RRB-1099.

Form RRB-1042S, Payments by the Railroad Retirement Board 2023 (Nonresident Aliens)

This form is for nonresident aliens.

Note. If your country of legal residence changed or your tax withholding rate changed during the year, you may receive more than one Form RRB-1042S. To determine your total amounts for the year, you should add the amounts shown on all Forms RRB-1042S you received for that year.

Box 1—Income Code

The figure shown in this box indicates the amounts are either SSEB payments or pension payments.

Box 5—Employee Contributions

This is the amount of taxes withheld from your railroad employment earnings that exceeds the amount of taxes that would have been withheld had the earnings been covered under the social security system. The amount shown is your total employee contribution amount attributable to a railroad account number and must be shared by all annuitants eligible to use it. It is the latest amount reported for 2023 and may have increased or decreased from a previous Form RRB-1042S. A change in the amount may affect the nontaxable portion of your contributory amounts paid. You may need to refigure the nontaxable amount and/or file an original or amended income tax return(s) using the amount reported on this form. If this box is blank, it means that your contributory amount paid and total gross paid are fully taxable. For more information, see Pub. 575; and Pub. 939, General Rule for Pensions and Annuities.

Box 6—Claim Number and Payee Code

Your RRB claim number is a 6- or 9-digit number preceded by an alphabetical prefix and is the number under which the SSEB portion of tier 1 benefits or special guaranty benefits was paid. Your payee code is the number following your claim number and is used by the RRB to identify you under your claim number. In all your contacts with the RRB, be sure to use the claim number and payee code shown in this box.

Box 7—Recipient’s U.S. Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN)

This is the U.S. social security number (SSN), individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN), or employer identification number (EIN), if known, for the person or estate listed as the recipient.

Box 10—Gross Benefit Paid in 2023

The figure shown in this box is the total amount of benefits paid to you in 2023. It includes any benefits paid in 2023 that were for prior years. It is the amount before any deductions were made for:

Federal income tax withholding;

Medicare premiums;

Legal Process Garnishment payments;

Overall minimum assignment payments;

Recovery of an overpayment, including recovery of Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act benefits received while awaiting payment of your railroad retirement annuity; and

Workers’ compensation offset.

The figure in box 10 is the amount after any deductions were made for:

Social security benefits,

Age reduction,

Public service pensions or public disability benefits,

Dual railroad retirement entitlement under another RRB claim number,

Work deductions,

Actuarial adjustment,

Annuity waiver, and

Legal Process Partition payments.

Social security benefits paid through the RRB aren’t reported on Form RRB-1099 or RRB-1042S. They are reported on Form SSA-1099 or SSA-1042S issued by the SSA.

Example 1.

For the period January through March 2023, you received $300 ($100 × 3 months) Railroad Unemployment Insurance. You were eligible for the SSEB portion of tier 1 benefits of $509 a month beginning January 1, 2023, but you didn’t receive your first payment until April 2023. The payment you received in April was for the first 3 months of 2023. However, because you received unemployment benefits during the same period, $300 was deducted from your initial benefit payment. Instead of receiving $1,527 ($509 × 3 months), you received $1,227 ($1,527 − $300). For the months of April through November, you were paid your regular monthly SSEB portion of tier 1 benefits of $509. Box 10 of your Form RRB-1042S will show $5,599 ($509 × 11 months) as the gross SSEB portion of tier 1 benefits paid to you in 2023, even though you didn’t actually receive that amount. This is because box 10 shows the gross amount of your benefits before any reductions were made for the unemployment benefits paid to you.

Example 2.

You received tier 1 benefits of $600 a month for the months of January through June 2023. Your $600 monthly tier 1 benefits consist of an SSEB portion of $250 and an NSSEB portion of $350. Beginning in July 2023, you became entitled to Medicare, and $164.90 a month was deducted from your benefit checks for Medicare premiums. Therefore, the tier 1 payments you received for the rest of the year were $435.10 ($600 − $164.90) a month. Box 10 of your Form RRB-1042S will show the gross SSEB portion of tier 1 benefits of $3,000 ($250 × 12 months), because it’s the gross SSEB amount before deductions for your Medicare premiums. Box 17 of your Form RRB-1042S will show your Medicare premiums of $989.40 ($164.90 × 6 months) deducted from July through December 2023. The remainder of your tier 1 payments, the NSSEB portion of $4,200 ($350 × 12 months), will be shown on the Form RRB-1099-R that you will receive along with your Form RRB-1042S. The $4,200 is the gross NSSEB amount before deductions for your Medicare premiums. (The Medicare Premium Total box shown on your Form RRB-1099-R will be blank because the Medicare total will be shown in box 17 of your Form RRB-1042S.) For more information on Form RRB-1042S, see Pub. 575.

Benefits paid for earlier years.

The figure in box 10 includes any lump-sum benefit payment you received in 2023 that is for an earlier year after 1983. See Lump-Sum Election, earlier, for information on how to treat the payment.

Box 11—Benefit Repaid to RRB in 2023

The figure shown in this box is the total amount of benefits you repaid to the RRB in 2023, including any benefits you repaid in 2023 for prior years. You may have repaid a benefit by returning a payment, by making a cash refund, or by having an amount withheld from your annuity for overpayment recovery purposes. In addition, an amount may have been withheld from your benefits to recover an overpayment incurred by someone else who is also receiving benefits under your claim number.

The amount in box 11 also includes any SSEB benefits you repaid in 2023 that were for 2023 or for 1 or more years before 2023. All tier 1 repayments for years before 1986 are treated entirely as SSEB benefits.

Example 1.

You returned to work for your last railroad employer for the months of June through August 2023. The SSEB portion of your tier 1 benefits was $450 for each of those months. Because you aren’t allowed to receive benefits for any month you returned to railroad service, you have to make a repayment to the RRB. You returned the benefit payment for June through August 2023. Box 11 of your Form RRB-1042S will show $1,350 ($450 × 3 months) as the SSEB portion of tier 1 benefits you repaid to the RRB.

Example 2.

From January through April 2023, you were overpaid $800 in the SSEB portion of tier 1 benefits. From May through August 2023, $200 a month was withheld from your benefit payment to fully recover the $800 overpayment. Box 11 of your Form RRB-1042S will show $800 ($200 × 4 months) as the SSEB portion of tier 1 benefits you repaid to the RRB.

Example 3.

As a retired railroad employee, you have been receiving a railroad retirement annuity, including an SSEB portion of tier 1 benefits, since 2022. You also became entitled to, and received from the SSA, a social security benefit of $300 a month beginning May 1, 2023. The SSA later authorized the RRB to pay that benefit. In August 2023, the RRB began paying your social security benefit to you and reduced the SSEB portion of your monthly tier 1 benefit by $300. Social security benefits of $900 ($300 × 3 months) covering the period May through July 2023 were kept by the RRB to offset your $900 SSEB overpayment for that same period. Box 11 of your Form RRB-1042S will show $900 as the SSEB portion of tier 1 benefits you repaid to the RRB.

Note. The SSA will send you Form SSA-1099, which will include the $900 in benefits paid by them for the months of May through July 2023.

Box 12—Net Benefit Paid in 2023

The figure shown in this box is the net amount of benefits paid to you in 2023. It is the result of subtracting the amount in box 11 from the amount in box 10. If you received more than one Form RRB-1042S for 2023, you should add the amounts in box 12 of all Forms RRB-1042S to determine your net amount of payments for 2023. Use this amount to determine if any of your benefits are taxable. See Are Any of Your Benefits Taxable, earlier.

If parentheses are around the figure in box 12, it means that the figure in box 11 is larger than the figure in box 10. This is a negative figure and means you repaid more money than you received in 2023. For more information, see Repayments More Than Gross Benefits, earlier.

Box 13—Federal Tax Withheld

The figure shown in this box is the total amount of U.S. federal income tax withheld from your benefits in 2023 while you were a known or assumed resident for tax purposes of the country shown in box 14. If no taxes were withheld, -0- will be shown in this box. If you received more than one Form RRB-1042S for 2023, add the amounts in box 13 of all Forms RRB-1042S to determine your total amount of U.S. federal income tax withheld from SSEB payments for 2023. Tax is withheld for any month in which you were a nonresident alien (unless you claimed exemption under a tax treaty).

Box 14—Country

The country where you maintain your legal residence is shown in this box. If you maintained legal residence in more than one country during the year, you will receive a separate Form RRB-1042S for each country of legal residence during the year.

Box 15—Tax Rate

The figure shown in this box is the rate at which U.S. federal income tax was withheld from the benefits shown on this Form RRB-1042S. If tax was withheld at more than one rate during the year, you will receive a separate Form RRB-1042S for each rate change during the year. The tax rate for most nonresident aliens is 30%. The figure “0%” or “15%” may appear in this box if you claimed a tax treaty exemption by filing Form RRB-1001 with the RRB. For more information, see Nonresident aliens, earlier, under Are Any of Your Benefits Taxable.

Box 16—Exemption Code

If a figure is shown in this box, it indicates a reduction in the applicable nonresident alien tax rate due to a treaty exemption.

Box 17—Medicare Premium Total

This is the total amount of Part B, Part C, and/or Part D Medicare premiums deducted from your railroad retirement annuity payments shown on your Form RRB-1042S.

See Pub. 519 for more information on nonresident aliens.

You should contact your nearest RRB field office (if you reside in the United States) or U.S. consulate/embassy (if you reside outside of the United States) for assistance with your RRB tax statement inquiries. If you are in the United States or Canada, you can call the RRB toll free at 877﻿-﻿772﻿-﻿5772. You can also go to the RRB website at RRB.gov. If you have any questions about how to figure your taxable payments or what amounts to show on your income tax return, contact the IRS.

How To Get Tax Help

If you have questions about a tax issue; need help preparing your tax return; or want to download free publications, forms, or instructions, go to IRS.gov to find resources that can help you right away.

Preparing and filing your tax return.

After receiving all your wage and earnings statements (Forms W-2, W-2G, 1099-R, 1099-MISC, 1099-NEC, etc.); unemployment compensation statements (by mail or in a digital format) or other government payment statements (Form 1099-G); and interest, dividend, and retirement statements from banks and investment firms (Forms 1099), you have several options to choose from to prepare and file your tax return. You can prepare the tax return yourself, see if you qualify for free tax preparation, or hire a tax professional to prepare your return.

Free options for tax preparation.

Your options for preparing and filing your return online or in your local community, if you qualify, include the following.

Free File. This program lets you prepare and file your federal individual income tax return for free using software or Free File Fillable Forms. However, state tax preparation may not be available through Free File. Go to IRS.gov/FreeFile to see if you qualify for free online federal tax preparation, e-filing, and direct deposit or payment options.

VITA. The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program offers free tax help to people with low-to-moderate incomes, persons with disabilities, and limited-English-speaking taxpayers who need help preparing their own tax returns. Go to IRS.gov/VITA, download the free IRS2Go app, or call 800﻿-﻿906﻿-﻿9887 for information on free tax return preparation.

TCE. The Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) program offers free tax help for all taxpayers, particularly those who are 60 years of age and older. TCE volunteers specialize in answering questions about pensions and retirement-related issues unique to seniors. Go to IRS.gov/TCE or download the free IRS2Go app for information on free tax return preparation.

MilTax. Members of the U.S. Armed Forces and qualified veterans may use MilTax, a free tax service offered by the Department of Defense through Military OneSource. For more information, go to MilitaryOneSource (MilitaryOneSource.mil/MilTax).Also, the IRS offers Free Fillable Forms, which can be completed online and then e-filed regardless of income.

Using online tools to help prepare your return.

Go to IRS.gov/Tools for the following.

The Earned Income Tax Credit Assistant (IRS.gov/EITCAssistant) determines if you’re eligible for the earned income credit (EIC).

The Online EIN Application (IRS.gov/EIN) helps you get an employer identification number (EIN) at no cost.

The Tax Withholding Estimator (IRS.gov/W4App) makes it easier for you to estimate the federal income tax you want your employer to withhold from your paycheck. This is tax withholding. See how your withholding affects your refund, take-home pay, or tax due.

The First-Time Homebuyer Credit Account Look-up (IRS.gov/HomeBuyer) tool provides information on your repayments and account balance.

The Sales Tax Deduction Calculator (IRS.gov/SalesTax) figures the amount you can claim if you itemize deductions on Schedule﻿ ﻿A (Form 1040).

Getting answers to your tax questions. On IRS.gov, you can get up-to-date information on current events and changes in tax law.

IRS.gov/Help: A variety of tools to help you get answers to some of the most common tax questions.

IRS.gov/ITA: The Interactive Tax Assistant, a tool that will ask you questions and, based on your input, provide answers on a number of tax topics.

IRS.gov/Forms: Find forms, instructions, and publications. You will find details on the most recent tax changes and interactive links to help you find answers to your questions.

You may also be able to access tax information in your e-filing software.

Need someone to prepare your tax return?

There are various types of tax return preparers, including enrolled agents, certified public accountants (CPAs), accountants, and many others who don’t have professional credentials. If you choose to have someone prepare your tax return, choose that preparer wisely. A paid tax preparer is:

Primarily responsible for the overall substantive accuracy of your return,

Required to sign the return, and

Required to include their preparer tax identification number (PTIN).

Although the tax preparer always signs the return, you're ultimately responsible for providing all the information required for the preparer to accurately prepare your return and for the accuracy of every item reported on the return. Anyone paid to prepare tax returns for others should have a thorough understanding of tax matters. For more information on how to choose a tax preparer, go to Tips for Choosing a Tax Preparer on IRS.gov.

Employers can register to use Business Services Online.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) offers online service at SSA.gov/employer for fast, free, and secure W-2 filing options to CPAs, accountants, enrolled agents, and individuals who process Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, and Form W-2c, Corrected Wage and Tax Statement.

IRS social media.

Go to IRS.gov/SocialMedia to see the various social media tools the IRS uses to share the latest information on tax changes, scam alerts, initiatives, products, and services. At the IRS, privacy and security are our highest priority. We use these tools to share public information with you. Don’t post your social security number (SSN) or other confidential information on social media sites. Always protect your identity when using any social networking site.

The following IRS YouTube channels provide short, informative videos on various tax-related topics in English, Spanish, and ASL.

Youtube.com/irsvideos.

Youtube.com/irsvideosmultilingua.

Youtube.com/irsvideosASL.

Watching IRS videos.

The IRS Video portal (IRSVideos.gov) contains video and audio presentations for individuals, small businesses, and tax professionals.

Online tax information in other languages.

You can find information on IRS.gov/MyLanguage if English isn’t your native language.

Free Over-the-Phone Interpreter (OPI) Service.

The IRS is committed to serving taxpayers with limited-English proficiency (LEP) by offering OPI services. The OPI Service is a federally funded program and is available at Taxpayer Assistance Centers (TACs), most IRS offices, and every VITA/TCE tax return site. The OPI Service is accessible in more than 350 languages.

Accessibility Helpline available for taxpayers with disabilities.

Taxpayers who need information about accessibility services can call 833﻿-﻿690﻿-﻿0598. The Accessibility Helpline can answer questions related to current and future accessibility products and services available in alternative media formats (for example, braille, large print, audio, etc.). The Accessibility Helpline does not have access to your IRS account. For help with tax law, refunds, or account-related issues, go to IRS.gov/LetUsHelp.

Note. Form 9000, Alternative Media Preference, or Form 9000(SP) allows you to elect to receive certain types of written correspondence in the following formats.

Standard Print.

Large Print.

Braille.

Audio (MP3).

Plain Text File (TXT).

Braille Ready File (BRF).

Disasters.

Go to IRS.gov/DisasterRelief to review the available disaster tax relief.

Getting tax forms and publications.

Go to IRS.gov/Forms to view, download, or print all the forms, instructions, and publications you may need. Or, you can go to IRS.gov/OrderForms to place an order.

Getting tax publications and instructions in eBook format.

Download and view most tax publications and instructions (including the Instructions for Form 1040) on mobile devices as eBooks at IRS.gov/eBooks.

IRS eBooks have been tested using Apple's iBooks for iPad. Our eBooks haven’t been tested on other dedicated eBook readers, and eBook functionality may not operate as intended.

Access your online account (individual taxpayers only).

Go to IRS.gov/Account to securely access information about your federal tax account.

View the amount you owe and a breakdown by tax year.

See payment plan details or apply for a new payment plan.

Make a payment or view 5 years of payment history and any pending or scheduled payments.

Access your tax records, including key data from your most recent tax return, and transcripts.

View digital copies of select notices from the IRS.

Approve or reject authorization requests from tax professionals.

View your address on file or manage your communication preferences.

Get a transcript of your return.

With an online account, you can access a variety of information to help you during the filing season. You can get a transcript, review your most recently filed tax return, and get your adjusted gross income. Create or access your online account at IRS.gov/Account.

Tax Pro Account.

This tool lets your tax professional submit an authorization request to access your individual taxpayer IRS online account. For more information, go to IRS.gov/TaxProAccount.

Using direct deposit.

The safest and easiest way to receive a tax refund is to e-file and choose direct deposit, which securely and electronically transfers your refund directly into your financial account. Direct deposit also avoids the possibility that your check could be lost, stolen, destroyed, or returned undeliverable to the IRS. Eight in 10 taxpayers use direct deposit to receive their refunds. If you don’t have a bank account, go to IRS.gov/DirectDeposit for more information on where to find a bank or credit union that can open an account online.

Reporting and resolving your tax-related identity theft issues.

Tax-related identity theft happens when someone steals your personal information to commit tax fraud. Your taxes can be affected if your SSN is used to file a fraudulent return or to claim a refund or credit.

The IRS doesn’t initiate contact with taxpayers by email, text messages (including shortened links), telephone calls, or social media channels to request or verify personal or financial information. This includes requests for personal identification numbers (PINs), passwords, or similar information for credit cards, banks, or other financial accounts.

Go to IRS.gov/IdentityTheft, the IRS Identity Theft Central webpage, for information on identity theft and data security protection for taxpayers, tax professionals, and businesses. If your SSN has been lost or stolen or you suspect you’re a victim of tax-related identity theft, you can learn what steps you should take.

Get an Identity Protection PIN (IP PIN). IP PINs are six-digit numbers assigned to taxpayers to help prevent the misuse of their SSNs on fraudulent federal income tax returns. When you have an IP PIN, it prevents someone else from filing a tax return with your SSN. To learn more, go to IRS.gov/IPPIN.

Ways to check on the status of your refund.

Go to IRS.gov/Refunds.

Download the official IRS2Go app to your mobile device to check your refund status.

Call the automated refund hotline at 800﻿-﻿829﻿-﻿1954.

The IRS can’t issue refunds before mid-February for returns that claimed the EIC or the additional child tax credit (ACTC). This applies to the entire refund, not just the portion associated with these credits.

Making a tax payment.

Payments of U.S. tax must be remitted to the IRS in U.S. dollars. Digital assets are not accepted. Go to IRS.gov/Payments for information on how to make a payment using any of the following options.

IRS Direct Pay: Pay your individual tax bill or estimated tax payment directly from your checking or savings account at no cost to you.

Debit Card, Credit Card, or Digital Wallet: Choose an approved payment processor to pay online or by phone.

Electronic Funds Withdrawal: Schedule a payment when filing your federal taxes using tax return preparation software or through a tax professional.

Electronic Federal Tax Payment System: Best option for businesses. Enrollment is required.

Check or Money Order: Mail your payment to the address listed on the notice or instructions.

Cash: You may be able to pay your taxes with cash at a participating retail store.

Same-Day Wire: You may be able to do same-day wire from your financial institution. Contact your financial institution for availability, cost, and time frames.

Note. The IRS uses the latest encryption technology to ensure that the electronic payments you make online, by phone, or from a mobile device using the IRS2Go app are safe and secure. Paying electronically is quick, easy, and faster than mailing in a check or money order.

What if I can’t pay now?

Go to IRS.gov/Payments for more information about your options.

Apply for an online payment agreement (IRS.gov/OPA) to meet your tax obligation in monthly installments if you can’t pay your taxes in full today. Once you complete the online process, you will receive immediate notification of whether your agreement has been approved.

Use the Offer in Compromise Pre-Qualifier to see if you can settle your tax debt for less than the full amount you owe. For more information on the Offer in Compromise program, go to IRS.gov/OIC.

Filing an amended return.

Go to IRS.gov/Form1040X for information and updates.

Checking the status of your amended return.

Go to IRS.gov/WMAR to track the status of Form 1040-X amended returns.

It can take up to 3 weeks from the date you filed your amended return for it to show up in our system, and processing it can take up to 16 weeks.

Understanding an IRS notice or letter you’ve received.

Go to IRS.gov/Notices to find additional information about responding to an IRS notice or letter.

Responding to an IRS notice or letter.

You can now upload responses to all notices and letters using the Document Upload Tool. For notices that require additional action, taxpayers will be redirected appropriately on IRS.gov to take further action. To learn more about the tool, go to IRS.gov/Upload.

Note. You can use Schedule﻿ ﻿LEP (Form 1040), Request for Change in Language Preference, to state a preference to receive notices, letters, or other written communications from the IRS in an alternative language. You may not immediately receive written communications in the requested language. The IRS’s commitment to LEP taxpayers is part of a multi-year timeline that began providing translations in 2023. You will continue to receive communications, including notices and letters, in English until they are translated to your preferred language.

Contacting your local TAC.

Keep in mind, many questions can be answered on IRS.gov without visiting a TAC. Go to IRS.gov/LetUsHelp for the topics people ask about most. If you still need help, TACs provide tax help when a tax issue can’t be handled online or by phone. All TACs now provide service by appointment, so you’ll know in advance that you can get the service you need without long wait times. Before you visit, go to IRS.gov/TACLocator to find the nearest TAC and to check hours, available services, and appointment options. Or, on the IRS2Go app, under the Stay Connected tab, choose the Contact Us option and click on “Local Offices.”

The Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) Is Here To Help You

What Is TAS?

TAS is an independent organization within the IRS that helps taxpayers and protects taxpayer rights. TAS strives to ensure that every taxpayer is treated fairly and that you know and understand your rights under the Taxpayer Bill of Rights.

How Can You Learn About Your Taxpayer Rights?

The Taxpayer Bill of Rights describes 10 basic rights that all taxpayers have when dealing with the IRS. Go to TaxpayerAdvocate.IRS.gov to help you understand what these rights mean to you and how they apply. These are your rights. Know them. Use them.

What Can TAS Do for You?

TAS can help you resolve problems that you can’t resolve with the IRS. And their service is free. If you qualify for their assistance, you will be assigned to one advocate who will work with you throughout the process and will do everything possible to resolve your issue. TAS can help you if:

Your problem is causing financial difficulty for you, your family, or your business;

You face (or your business is facing) an immediate threat of adverse action; or

You’ve tried repeatedly to contact the IRS but no one has responded, or the IRS hasn’t responded by the date promised.

How Can You Reach TAS?

TAS has offices in every state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. To find your advocate’s number:

Go to TaxpayerAdvocate.IRS.gov/Contact-Us;

Download Pub. 1546, The Taxpayer Advocate Service Is Your Voice at the IRS, available at IRS.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p1546.pdf;

Call the IRS toll free at 800-TAX-FORM (800﻿-﻿829﻿-﻿3676) to order a copy of Pub. 1546;

Check your local directory; or

Call TAS toll free at 877﻿-﻿777﻿-﻿4778.

How Else Does TAS Help Taxpayers?

TAS works to resolve large-scale problems that affect many taxpayers. If you know of one of these broad issues, report it to TAS at IRS.gov/SAMS. Be sure to not include any personal taxpayer information.

Low Income Taxpayer Clinics (LITCs)

LITCs are independent from the IRS and TAS. LITCs represent individuals whose income is below a certain level and who need to resolve tax problems with the IRS. LITCs can represent taxpayers in audits, appeals, and tax collection disputes before the IRS and in court. In addition, LITCs can provide information about taxpayer rights and responsibilities in different languages for individuals who speak English as a second language. Services are offered for free or a small fee. For more information or to find an LITC near you, go to the LITC page at TaxpayerAdvocate.IRS.gov/LITC or see IRS Pub. 4134, Low Income Taxpayer Clinic List, at IRS.gov/pub/irs-pdf/4134.pdf.

Index

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | J | L | M | N | P | R | S | T | U | W

A

Assistance (See Tax help)

B

Base amount Base amount.

C

Canadian social security benefits Canadian or German social﻿…

Children's benefits Children's benefits.

D

Deductions related to benefits Deductions Related to﻿…

$3,000.01 or more Deduction more than﻿…

Disability benefits repaid Disability payments.

E

Estimated tax Tax withholding and﻿…

F

Form 1040 or 1040-SR Reporting on Form 1040﻿…

Form RRB-1042S Form RRB-1042S, Payments﻿…

Form RRB-1099 Lump-sum payment reported﻿…, Form RRB-1099, Payments﻿…

Form SSA-1042S Form SSA-1042S, Social﻿…

Form SSA-1099 Lump-sum payment reported﻿…, Form SSA-1099, Social﻿…

Form W-4V Tax withholding and﻿…

Future Developments:

Product Page Future Developments

G

German social security benefits Canadian or German social﻿…

J

Joint returns Joint return.

L

Lump-sum election Lump-Sum Election

Example Example

Worksheet 1:

Filled-in Example

Worksheet 2:

Blank Worksheets

Filled-in Example

Worksheet 3, blank Worksheets

Worksheet 4:

Blank Worksheets

Filled-in Example

M

Missing children, photographs of Photographs of missing﻿…

my Social Security account my Social Security account

N

Nonresident aliens Nonresident aliens.

Form RRB-1042S Form RRB-1042S, Payments﻿…

Form SSA-1042S Form SSA-1042S, Social﻿…

Nontaxable benefits Benefits not taxable

P

Permanent resident aliens Lawful permanent residents

Publications (See Tax help)

R

Railroad retirement benefits Introduction

Repayments:

Benefits received in earlier year Repayment of benefits, Repayment of benefits﻿…

Disability benefits Disability payments.

Gross benefits Repayment of benefits, Repayments More Than﻿…

Reporting requirements How To Report Your Benefits

Lump-sum payment Lump-sum payment reported﻿…

S

Social Security benefits Introduction

T

Tax help How To Get Tax Help

Taxable benefits:

Determination of Are Any of Your Benefits﻿…, How Much Is Taxable?

Maximum taxable part Maximum taxable part

Person receiving benefits determines Who is taxed.

Worksheets:

Examples Examples, Worksheets

Quick calculation, sample Are Any of Your Benefits﻿…

Which to use Which worksheet to use

Total income, figuring Figuring total income

U

U.S. citizens residing abroad U.S. citizens residing﻿…

U.S. residents:

Canadian or German social security benefits paid to Canadian or German social﻿…

W

Withholding Tax withholding and﻿…

Exemption from Exemption from withholding

Form W-4V Tax withholding and﻿…

Voluntary Tax withholding and﻿…

Worksheets:

Lump-sum election:

Blank Worksheet 4 Worksheets

Filled-in Worksheet 4 Example

Lump-sum payment:

Blank Worksheet 2 Worksheets

Blank Worksheet 3 Worksheets

Filled-in Worksheet 1 Example

Filled-in Worksheet 2 Example

Taxable benefits:

Blank Worksheet 1 Worksheets

Filled-in Worksheet 1 Examples