Is Social Security taxable? Confused about federal taxes at FRA

Yes, Social Security benefits can definitely be taxable at the federal level. It depends on your "combined income" which is: - Your adjusted gross income - Plus nontaxable interest - Plus half of your Social Security benefits For 2025, if you file as an individual and your combined income is: - Between $25,000 and $34,000: up to 50% of benefits may be taxable - Above $34,000: up to 85% of benefits may be taxable For married filing jointly: - Between $32,000 and $44,000: up to 50% of benefits may be taxable - Above $44,000: up to 85% of benefits may be taxable With your pension and investments, you'll likely have some portion taxed. You might want to consider having federal taxes withheld from your SS payments (use Form W-4V) or make quarterly estimated tax payments.

ur neighbor is wrong lol. been paying taxes on my SS for years. its the worst. but theres like a calculation sheet in the 1040 instructions that helps figure it out. or tax software does it for you

When I reached FRA last year, I was SHOCKED at the tax situation. Nobody tells you about this stuff! I have a pension about the same size as yours and yes, I'm paying taxes on 85% of my Social Security. It's absolutely CRIMINAL that they tax benefits we already paid for with our FICA taxes during our working years. Double taxation if you ask me!!! Make sure you either have withholding set up or make quarterly payments. I got hit with a penalty my first year because I didn't know.

I want to clarify something important: The IRS doesn't tax up to 85% of your total benefits - rather, up to 85% of your benefits may be *included* in your taxable income. The actual tax you pay depends on your tax bracket. Also, 13 states tax Social Security benefits: Colorado, Connecticut, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, and West Virginia. Each state has different rules about exemptions and income thresholds. For your situation with a $2,200 monthly pension plus investment income, you'll almost certainly have some portion of your SS benefits included in your taxable income. You should talk to a tax professional before you start collecting.

I just wanna mention that reaching FRA doesn't impact whether your benefits are taxable. That's determined solely by your income, not your age. You could claim early at 62 or wait till 70 - taxation works the same way regardless.

When I was trying to figure this out last year, I was getting so frustrated trying to reach someone at Social Security to help with tax withholding. I kept getting disconnected or waiting for hours. Ended up trying this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that someone on another forum recommended. They got me connected to a real SSA agent in about 10 minutes to set up my withholding. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU The agent explained all my options and helped me complete the W-4V form to have 12% federal tax withheld from each payment. Saved me from having to deal with quarterly payments.

Something else to consider is that your tax situation might change from year to year after you retire. For example, in years when you take larger distributions from retirement accounts, more of your SS might be taxable. In years when you have less income, less might be taxable. This is where tax planning becomes really valuable in retirement. Some people try to balance their income sources to minimize how much of their SS is subject to tax.

To answer your original question about quarterly tax payments - yes, you should consider making them if you won't have enough tax withheld from your pension and Social Security. The general rule is that you need to pay at least 90% of your current year tax or 100% of last year's tax (110% if your AGI was over $150,000) through withholding or estimated payments to avoid an underpayment penalty. Form 1040-ES is what you'll use for quarterly payments. The due dates are April 15, June 15, September 15, and January 15 of the following year.

Don't forget that the taxable thresholds for Social Security have not been adjusted for inflation since they were introduced in 1984!!! The $25,000/$32,000 limits would be over $70,000/$90,000 if they had been indexed for inflation. More and more middle-class retirees get pushed into paying taxes on their benefits every year because of this. It's a total scam by the government!