If Social Security is your sole source of income, then you don't need to file a tax return. However, if you have other income, you may be required to file a tax return depending on the amount of other income.
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.
Standard Deductions for Retirees
The standard deductions for 2024 are $14,600 for single taxpayers and married taxpayers filing separately, $29,200 for married taxpayers filing jointly, and $21,900 for heads of household. You won't owe any taxes if your taxable total income falls below these amounts.
At What Age Can You Stop Filing Taxes? Taxes aren't determined by age, so you will never age out of paying taxes. People who are 65 or older at the end of 2024 have to file a return for tax year 2024 (which is due in 2025) if their gross income is $16,550 or higher.
The $1,000 per month rule is designed to help you estimate the amount of savings required to generate a steady monthly income during retirement. According to this rule, for every $240,000 you save, you can withdraw $1,000 per month if you stick to a 5% annual withdrawal rate.
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.
Everyone must pay applicable Social Security taxes on income, even those working past full retirement age.
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.
If the only income you receive is your Social Security benefits, then you typically don't have to file a federal income 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 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.
You would not be required to file a tax return. But you might want to file a return, because even though you are not required to pay taxes on your Social Security, you may be able to get a refund of any money withheld from your paycheck for taxes.
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.
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.
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.
You have to be 25 or older but under 65 to qualify for the EIC. You also have to have lived in the United States for more than half of the year and can't be a dependent of another person.
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.
How long will $300,000 last in retirement? If you have $300,000 and withdraw 4% per year, that number could last you roughly 25 years. That's $12,000, which is not enough to live on its own unless you have additional income like Social Security and own your own place. Luckily, that $300,000 can go up if you invest it.
The ideal monthly retirement income for a couple differs for everyone. It depends on your personal preferences, past accomplishments, and retirement plans. Some valuable perspective can be found in the 2022 US Census Bureau's median income for couples 65 and over: $76,490 annually or about $6,374 monthly.