For example, you may need to file if you earned self-employment income or income from interest or dividends. In most cases, if you only receive Social Security benefits, you won't need to file a tax return. If you get Social Security benefits and also get tax-exempt income, you may need to file a return.
Generally speaking, you have to be 65 or older and make less than $17,500 in adjusted gross income if you're tax filing status is single or head of household – that limit rises to $20,000 if you're married filing jointly and only one spouse is 65 or older and $25,000 if you're married filing jointly and both spouses 65 ...
You will pay federal income taxes on your benefits if your combined income (50% of your benefit amount plus any other earned income) exceeds $25,000/year filing individually or $32,000/year filing jointly.
About 40% of people who get Social Security must pay federal income taxes on their benefits. This usually happens if you have other substantial income in addition to your benefits.
While you may have heard at some point that Social Security is no longer taxable after 70 or some other age, this isn't the case. In reality, Social Security is taxed at any age if your income exceeds a certain level.
You generally don't have to pay taxes if your income is less than the standard deduction or the total of your itemized deductions, if you have a certain number of dependents, if you work abroad and are below the required thresholds, or if you're a qualifying non-profit organization.
Have you heard about the Social Security $16,728 yearly bonus? There's really no “bonus” that retirees can collect. The Social Security Administration (SSA) uses a specific formula based on your lifetime earnings to determine your benefit amount.
Social Security income can be taxable no matter how old you are. It all depends on whether your total combined income exceeds a certain level set for your filing status. You may have heard that Social Security income is not taxed after age 70; this is false.
At a glance
The minimum income amount depends on your filing status and age. In 2023, for example, the minimum for Single filing status if under age 65 is $13,850. If your income is below that threshold, you generally do not need to file a federal tax return.
You report the taxable portion of your Social Security benefits on line 6b of Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR. Your benefits may be taxable if the total of (1) one-half of your benefits, plus (2) all of your other income, including tax-exempt interest, is greater than the base amount for your filing status.
If your only income is social security disability benefits, it's unlikely that you will owe the IRS anything at the end of the year or need to file a return. Clearly, if you don't file, you also won't earn a refund check. But, this is only if your sole income is the benefits.
If your spouse dies, do you get both Social Security benefits? You cannot claim your deceased spouse's benefits in addition to your own retirement benefits. Social Security only will pay one—survivor or retirement. If you qualify for both survivor and retirement benefits, you will receive whichever amount is higher.
In-person IRS help for seniors and low-income taxpayers
Eligible taxpayers can also have their taxes prepared in person for free, through these two programs: Tax Counseling for the Elderly – The TCE program prioritizes taxpayers aged 60 and older.
Taxpayers who don't owe tax or are owed a refund
Taxpayers sometimes fail to file a tax return and claim a refund for these credits and others for which they may be eligible. There's no penalty for filing after the April 15 deadline if a refund is due.
Generally, if Social Security benefits were your only income, your benefits are not taxable and you probably do not need to file a federal income tax return.
Taxpayers 65 and older qualify for an additional standard deduction, reducing their taxable income. The extra deduction amount differs based on filing status and whether the taxpayer or spouse is blind. The IRS updates the deduction amounts annually for inflation, impacting tax filings.
Exactly how much in earnings do you need to get a $3,000 benefit? Well, you just need to have averaged about 70% of the taxable maximum. In our example case, that means that your earnings in 1983 were about $22,000 and increased every year to where they ended at about $100,000 at age 62.
To qualify to get $144 added back to your Social Security check, you can enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan that offers a Part B premium reduction or giveback benefit.
Each survivor benefit can be up to 100% of your benefit. The amount may be reduced if the women start benefits before their own full retirement age, but they don't have to share — the amount isn't reduced because you've had more than one spouse.