Social Security benefits at 62 - Are monthly payments taxed?

Yes, Social Security benefits can definitely be taxed, but it depends on your total income. Up to 85% of your benefits may be taxable if your combined income (adjusted gross income + nontaxable interest + half of your SS benefits) exceeds certain thresholds. For 2025, if you file as an individual and your combined income is: - Below $25,000: your benefits are NOT taxable - Between $25,000 and $34,000: up to 50% may be taxable - Above $34,000: up to 85% may be taxable If you're married filing jointly, the thresholds are $32,000 and $44,000 respectively. The SSA doesn't automatically withhold taxes, but you can request voluntary withholding by completing Form W-4V if you're concerned about owing at tax time.

Your brother-in-law is DEAD WRONG!!! I learned this the hard way last year. Got my first full year of SS benefits and BAM! Tax bill I wasn't expecting because NOBODY at SSA bothered to tell me this when I signed up. Now I'm scrambling to pay IRS every April. The whole system is designed to trick seniors!!!

Just want to add that if you decide to keep working after claiming SS at 62, be aware of the earnings limit too! For 2025, if you earn over $22,320 from a job or self-employment, SSA will deduct $1 from your benefits for every $2 you earn over that limit. This is separate from the tax issue but could impact your monthly amount too. Once you reach your full retirement age (66+), the earnings limit goes away completely.

my wife and i both get ss and we do pay taxes. depends on your other income really. we have to do estimated payments quarterly cause the first year we didn't and got hit with a penalty for underpayment. not fun.

One important thing to consider before claiming at 62 - your benefit amount will be permanently reduced by about 30% compared to waiting until your Full Retirement Age (likely 67 for you). And if you wait until 70, you'd get an additional 24% on top of your FRA amount. This taxation question is important, but make sure you're also considering the long-term impact of early claiming, especially if you have other income sources to bridge the gap and you're in good health with family longevity.

I tried calling SSA directly about this exact same question last month and spent 3 HOURS on hold before getting disconnected! Eventually I used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) and they got me connected to a real SSA agent in under 10 minutes. The agent confirmed everything about the taxation that others already mentioned here, but also helped me understand what my specific benefit amount will be and helped me set up voluntary withholding. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU - definitely worth it for me after wasting half a day on hold!

I remember being confused about this too! To make things even more complicated, some states also tax Social Security benefits while others don't. I live in Colorado and they have an exemption for some Social Security income depending on your age. Worth checking if your state taxes them too.

Thanks everyone for all this great information! I definitely have a clearer picture now. I'll be talking to my tax person next week to run some numbers based on my projected income. And I might use that Claimyr service to get through to SSA to discuss my specific situation. Really appreciate all the help!

I got question somewhat related... does any1 know if SS counts as income for mortgage applications? thinking of downsizing after retirement but need a small mortgage.