Social Security recipients living in apartments - do we need to file IRS taxes?
Hi everyone. I'm 69 and moved into a rental apartment last year after selling my house. I live entirely on my Social Security benefits which is about $1,950 per month. My landlord mentioned something about me needing to file taxes even though I'm on SS? I thought Social Security recipients didn't have to file if SS is our only income? Does being a renter change things with the IRS? I haven't filed taxes since I retired 4 years ago so now I'm worried I've been doing something wrong.
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Lauren Wood
being a renter has nothing to do with if u file taxes or not!! its about your income level
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Dylan Baskin
•That's a relief! So my landlord is wrong? I was getting really anxious thinking I'd been breaking tax laws for years!
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Ellie Lopez
Your filing requirement is based on your total income, not your housing situation. For single filers over 65, you generally don't need to file if your gross income is under $14,700 (for 2025). If Social Security is your only income, you likely don't need to file - though it depends on the total amount. To determine if your Social Security benefits are taxable, take half your annual SS benefits ($11,700 in your case) plus any other income. If that total exceeds $25,000 for single filers, then a portion of your benefits may be taxable, requiring you to file. Based on what you've shared, you're probably fine not filing, but it's always good to double-check with a tax professional for your specific situation.
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Dylan Baskin
•Thank you so much for explaining! That makes sense. My only income is SS so I'm well under those limits you mentioned. What a relief!
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Chad Winthrope
I've been through this exact situation with the IRS and SSA! Your landlord is COMPLETELY WRONG and probably just trying to scare you. The government doesn't care if you rent or own - that has ZERO impact on tax filing requirements. I've been on SS for 7 years living in apartments and haven't filed once because my only income is SS benefits under the limit. The IRS has never bothered me about it. The whole system is designed to confuse seniors and make us panic over nothing!!
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Paige Cantoni
•Same here! Been renting for 3 years on just SS and haven't filed. No problems at all.
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Kylo Ren
My situation was kinda similar but different too? I get SS disability and I didn't file for like 2 years but then got a letter from IRS saying I needed to? It turned out I had some small retirement account distribution I forgot about that put me over some limit. Maybe check if you have ANY other income at all, even tiny amounts can mess things up sometimes.
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Dylan Baskin
•That's a good point - I did get a small interest payment from my savings account last year, maybe like $25. I wonder if that counts toward my total?
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Ellie Lopez
•Yes, interest income does count toward your total income. However, $25 is still well below the threshold that would require you to file. You'd need other income sources that, when combined with half your Social Security, would push you over the $25,000 threshold (for single filers).
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Nina Fitzgerald
When I needed clarification about my tax obligations while on Social Security, I was getting nowhere with the IRS phone lines - constant busy signals or disconnects after waiting for hours. I discovered Claimyr.com which got me through to an actual IRS agent in under 30 minutes! They have a service that navigates the phone systems for you. Check out their demo at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU to see how it works. The agent I spoke with confirmed that if Social Security is my only income and I'm below the thresholds, I don't need to file regardless of whether I rent or own my home.
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Jason Brewer
•Thanks for sharing this resource. I've struggled to get through to both the IRS and SSA on numerous occasions. Did Claimyr work for reaching Social Security offices too, or just the IRS?
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Nina Fitzgerald
•Yes! Actually I've used it for both agencies. Works exactly the same way for SSA - they call, navigate the phone tree, then connect you once they get a human. Saved me hours of frustration.
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Jason Brewer
Everyone here is giving you good information about income thresholds, but I want to clarify one thing: there can sometimes be state or local tax filing requirements that differ from federal ones. Some states tax Social Security benefits differently or have different filing thresholds. What state are you in? That could potentially matter for state income tax purposes, though it still has nothing to do with renting vs. owning.
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Dylan Baskin
•Oh I hadn't even thought about state taxes! I'm in Florida, so I don't think we have state income tax? At least that's what my neighbor told me when I moved here.
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Jason Brewer
•You're in luck! Florida doesn't have state income tax, so you only need to worry about federal tax rules. Your neighbor was correct.
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Paige Cantoni
congrats on selling ur house! i bet u made a bundle in this market lol
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Dylan Baskin
•Thanks! Yes, I did ok on the sale. It was getting to be too much to maintain by myself after my husband passed.
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Ellie Lopez
•Just a note - if you had significant capital gains from selling your house last year, that could potentially affect your tax situation for that year specifically. For a single person, up to $250,000 in capital gains from selling a primary residence can be excluded if you lived there at least 2 of the last 5 years.
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Lauren Wood
my friend has same situation and the apartment manager told her she needed some tax form for her rent but it was for low income housing tax credit thing not for normal taxes!!! maybe thats what ur landlord was talking about???
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Dylan Baskin
•That could be it! He did mention something about needing to verify my income for the apartment. I'll ask him if that's what he meant. Thank you!
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