Do Social Security survivor benefits for my child count as my taxable income? No 1099 yet

Good news! Those benefits are your daughter's income, not yours. If the survivor benefits are the ONLY income she has, she probably won't owe taxes on them at all. SSA doesn't usually send a 1099 for children's benefits unless the amount exceeds the taxable threshold, which is pretty high for a child with no other income. You can check her benefit amount on the SSA website by creating a my Social Security account for her if you want to be sure about the exact amount received during the year.

my kid gets survivors too and i NEVER report it on my taxes. its the kids money not yours

Since you're new to this, let me clarify a few things about survivor benefits for children: 1. The benefits are considered the CHILD'S income, not the parent's 2. SSA should send a SSA-1099 by January 31st showing benefits paid in the previous year 3. If the 1099 doesn't arrive, you can download it from your daughter's my Social Security account 4. Most children don't need to file tax returns because their total income (including these benefits) falls below filing thresholds 5. However, if your daughter has other income sources (investment income, etc.), you might need to file a return for her As the representative payee, you're required to manage the money for her benefit, but it doesn't count as YOUR income for tax purposes.

I had this EXACT same problem last year!! Drove me crazy trying to figure it out. The Social Security office was IMPOSSIBLE to reach by phone - I tried for WEEKS!!! Finally found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an actual SSA agent in about 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU Anyway, the agent confirmed what others are saying - it's your child's income, not yours. And since my son had no other income, no tax return was needed for him. Saved me so much stress once I knew for sure!

My sister went through this whole thing when her husband died in 2021. She said it was confusing too but she found out the benefits don't go on her taxes. She did have to file a return for her son though because he had a trust fund that generated income plus the SS benefits. But if your daughter doesn't have other income you're probably fine.

As a CPA who handles many clients with Social Security issues, I can confirm what others have said. The technical details: The survivor benefits are your daughter's income, not yours. A child generally only needs to file a tax return if: 1. Their unearned income (including Social Security) exceeds $1,250, OR 2. Their earned income exceeds $13,850, OR 3. Their gross income exceeds the larger of $1,250 or their earned income (up to $13,850) plus $400 For Social Security specifically, benefits are only taxable if the recipient's "combined income" (adjusted gross income + nontaxable interest + half of SS benefits) exceeds the base amount ($25,000 for single filers). In practical terms, most children receiving only survivor benefits won't need to file. But if your daughter has investment income or earnings from a job, you'll need to calculate whether she meets the filing requirements.

my friend got audited once cuz her kid had a savings account plus SS survivors and the interest pushed it over some limit. make sure ur kid doesnt have any other $ coming in

Just to add a bit more info - as the representative payee, you should have received a "Representative Payee Report" form from SSA to complete each year. This isn't a tax form, but it's the SSA's way of making sure the benefits are being used properly for your daughter. Make sure you complete and return that form when it arrives (usually around the anniversary of when you began receiving benefits). The SSA can suspend payments if they don't receive this form.