Do Social Security benefits get taxed if I delay until age 70? Income reporting confusion

Yes, you still need to report Social Security benefits as income regardless of what age you start collecting them. Waiting until 70 increases your benefit amount (by about 8% per year after your Full Retirement Age), but doesn't change how they're taxed. The taxation depends on your combined income (Adjusted Gross Income + nontaxable interest + half of your SS benefits). If that combined income exceeds certain thresholds, up to 85% of your benefits become taxable. For individuals, taxation starts at $25,000 combined income, and can reach the 85% level at $34,000+. Since you mentioned having pension and investment income, you'll likely pay taxes on a portion of your benefits.

my sister waited til 70 and regrets it now. she couldve had 4 years of checks in her pocket but tried to be smart about it. now she has to pay taxes on the bigger amount anyway. alot of peple dont realize tax is based on ALL your income not just when u take SS.

To add some more detail to what others have said: 1. When you file your taxes, you'll get a SSA-1099 showing your total SS benefits for the year. You'll use Worksheet 1 in IRS Publication 915 to calculate exactly how much is taxable. 2. With your benefit amount of $3,800/month ($45,600/year) plus pension and investments, you're almost certainly going to have at least some portion taxed. 3. Consider tax planning now - you might want to do Roth conversions or change your investment strategy to reduce the taxable income that can push your SS benefits into the taxable range. 4. Some states don't tax SS benefits at all, while others follow the federal rules. What state you live in matters too.

I've been waiting on hold with the Social Security Administration for almost 2 HOURS trying to get an answer about this exact question! The phone system is absolutely MADDENING and I keep getting disconnected. I'm considering delaying benefits too but need to understand all the implications first. Has anyone found a better way to actually reach a human at SSA to discuss these planning questions?

Thanks everyone for the helpful responses! One more question - is there any advantage to taking social security at FRA versus 70 if most of it will be taxed anyway? My FRA is 67 and I was hoping to minimize taxes by waiting, but it sounds like that's not really a factor. Should I just decide based on health and life expectancy?

Something important that hasn't been mentioned - if Social Security is your ONLY income, then you likely won't pay any federal taxes on it. But from what you've described with pension and investments, you'll almost certainly have some portion taxed. To minimize taxes on SS benefits, many retirees try to keep their other taxable income lower during the years they're collecting. Some strategies include: 1. Drawing from Roth accounts instead of traditional IRAs/401ks 2. Managing capital gains realizations 3. Charitable giving strategies 4. Qualified charitable distributions from IRAs after 70½ A good tax professional can help you develop a year-by-year strategy.

So I'm now collecting at 70 (started last year) and was SHOCKED at tax time!!! I had no idea so much would be taxable. My neighbor told me only 85% MAX can be taxed, which was small comfort when I saw my tax bill. Just be prepared and maybe make quarterly estimated tax payments to avoid a surprise. I'm still glad I waited though - the bigger check each month is worth it.

One more consideration: Social Security at any age (62, FRA, or 70) counts toward your provisional income that determines Medicare IRMAA surcharges (those extra premium amounts for Parts B and D if your income is above certain thresholds). So if you're approaching 65, factor in how your total income including Social Security might affect your Medicare premiums too.