What taxes get withheld from Social Security checks and how to adjust withholding

Congratulations on your first payment! Whether your Social Security benefits are taxable depends on your combined income. Up to 85% of your benefits may be taxable if your combined income (adjusted gross income + nontaxable interest + half of your Social Security benefits) exceeds certain thresholds. For single filers, that's $25,000-$34,000 for partial taxation and above $34,000 for up to 85% taxation. For married filing jointly, it's $32,000-$44,000 for partial and above $44,000 for up to 85%. To have federal taxes withheld, you need to submit Form W-4V. You can choose to have 7%, 10%, 12%, or 22% withheld. You can't do a specific dollar amount, only those percentages. Since you're working part-time with a pension, you might want to consider the 10-12% withholding rate, but it depends on your total income situation.

my ss is taxed but i dont have them take it out directly. i just pay quarterly estimated taxes that includes what ill owe on ss. easier for me cuz i have other income too and can adjust it easier that way. just make sure ur ready for it at tax time if u dont withhold!!

You can download the W-4V form from ssa.gov or get it at your local Social Security office. Most people don't realize that taxes on Social Security benefits can be complicated because they're calculated based on your "combined income." With your part-time job and pension, you're almost certainly going to have some taxable SS benefits. Also, don't forget about state taxes! Most states don't tax Social Security benefits, but 12 states do (Colorado, Connecticut, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, and West Virginia). Each has different rules about exemptions and income thresholds. I've been helping my parents navigate this, and we found using the online tax withholding estimator on the IRS website really helpful to figure out the right amount.

I get my SS and i dont have any taxes taken out. My neighbor told me social security isnt taxable income so you dont need to worry about it. They said its money we already paid taxes on when we were working.

I had the same question when I started getting my benefits! I tried calling SSA for like 3 days straight and kept getting busy signals or was on hold forever. Finally found Claimyr (claimyr.com) which got me through to a real SSA agent in about 20 minutes. They explained all the withholding options and helped me fill out the W-4V over the phone. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. Definitely better than trying to figure out all the tax stuff alone or waiting for hours on hold!

Thanks everyone for the helpful info! I downloaded the W-4V form and I'm going to fill it out this weekend. I think I'll start with 10% withholding based on my other income. Better safe than sorry! I'm also going to check my state's rules since I'm in Minnesota and sounds like that might be changing. Really appreciate all the advice - this stuff is way more complicated than I expected!

One additional suggestion: if your part-time job allows you to adjust your withholding there, that's another way to account for taxes on your Social Security. Some people prefer to increase withholding from their wages rather than having SSA withhold from their benefit. This gives you more flexibility with percentages and can sometimes be easier to adjust throughout the year as your income changes. You can use the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator tool to get a more precise calculation based on all your income sources.

The WHOLE SYSTEM is designed to CONFUSE people!! Why should we have to pay taxes on benefits WE PAID INTO our entire working lives?? This is DOUBLE TAXATION and it's UNCONSTITUTIONAL! I've been fighting with the SSA and IRS for 3 years about this. They withheld 22% from my checks without my permission and it took MONTHS to get it fixed. The government just wants to rob seniors blind!