When does Social Security ask about tax withholding during online application process?

The online application doesn't include tax withholding options. After your benefits are approved, you'll receive a notification to create your my Social Security account (if you haven't already). From there, you can set up voluntary tax withholding by selecting the

Thank you so much for this clear explanation! I was worried I missed something in the application. We already have our my Social Security accounts set up, but I didn't realize we'd need to wait until after approval to handle the withholding part. Much appreciated!

my husband and i both started SS last year and the tax part confused us too!!!! we ended up owing a bunch at tax time cause we didnt know to setup withholding until our 3rd payment... dont make our mistake lol

Oh no! That's exactly what I'm trying to avoid. How much did you end up owing, if you don't mind me asking? And was it difficult to set up the withholding once you realized you needed it?

we owed like $3200 for the year it was awful!!! setting it up wasn't hard just went into the my SS account thing and picked 10% withholding. wish theyd warn people better

What I found helpful was understanding exactly when to handle tax withholding in the process:1. First, complete and submit your retirement applications2. Wait for approval notification (typically 2-4 weeks)3. Once approved, immediately log into your my Social Security accounts4. Navigate to Benefits & Payments > Tax Withholding5. Both you and your husband should select your preferred withholding rateAlternatively, you can submit Form W-4V (Voluntary Withholding Request) directly to your local office. Just be aware that if you don't set up withholding, you may need to make quarterly estimated tax payments instead to avoid underpayment penalties.

This step-by-step guide is exactly what I needed! Really appreciate you laying it out so clearly. I'll make sure to set calendar reminders so we handle this immediately after approval.

BE WARNED THE SSA SOMETIMES TAKES FOREVER TO PROCESS WITHOLDING REQUESTS!!! I submitted mine through my SS account and it took OVER 2 MONTHS to actually start the withholding!!!! I had to call them multiple times to get it fixed. Their system is completely broken!!!!

I had this exact same experience. Submitted my withholding request and nothing happened for weeks. I tried calling but spent literally 3 hours on hold before getting disconnected. Then I found Claimyr.com which got me through to an actual SSA agent in about 15 minutes. They have this service where they wait on hold for you then call when an agent is on the line. Saved me so much frustration! There's a video demo at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU that shows how it works. The agent was able to confirm my withholding request had gotten stuck in their system and fixed it right away.

Why should we have to pay a service just to talk to someone at SSA? This is ridiculous. Our tax dollars already fund this agency. I'm gonna try the local office instead.

I understand the frustration, but my local office had a 3-week wait for appointments. For something time-sensitive like tax withholding, I felt the service was worth it. But yes, ideally we shouldn't need workarounds like this.

Congrats on retiring! My wife and I just went through this whole process last summer. One thing to consider: you might not NEED to withhold taxes. We talked to our accountant and decided to just make quarterly estimated payments instead since our other income fluctuates throughout the year. Gives us more flexibility than fixed withholding.

That's a really good point I hadn't considered! We do have some variable income from investments, so maybe quarterly payments would work better for us too. I'll definitely discuss this with our tax person. Thanks for bringing this up!

wait quick question - are you guys both taking your own benefits? or is one of you taking spousal? cause my sister did the spousal thing at FRA and got more money than her own record

We're both taking our own benefits since we had similar earnings histories. I did check the spousal benefit option but my own benefit amount is higher. It's definitely worth looking into though - I know several friends who got more with the spousal benefit!

Just to add to this - make sure you both ran the math correctly. At FRA, spousal benefits are 50% of the higher earner's PIA (even if they delayed claiming). Sometimes it's not immediately obvious which is better without seeing the actual numbers.

Since you're both at or past your Full Retirement Ages, I wanted to mention something important about tax planning with Social Security. Once you start receiving benefits, up to 85% of your Social Security income may be taxable depending on your combined income. The thresholds are:- Up to 50% taxable if your combined income is between $32,000-$44,000 (married filing jointly)- Up to 85% taxable if your combined income exceeds $44,000Combined income = Adjusted Gross Income + Nontaxable Interest + 1/2 of Social Security BenefitsThis is why setting up proper withholding or estimated payments is so important. Many new retirees are surprised by their tax liability.

These thresholds are so much lower than I expected! With our pension and investment income, we'll definitely be in the 85% taxable category. This makes the withholding question even more critical for us. Thank you for sharing these specific numbers.

One more thing to be aware of - if you want to set up or modify your tax withholding by phone instead of online, be prepared for extremely long wait times (often 1-2 hours). The

Thanks for the heads up! I'll definitely stick with the online method whenever possible. The thought of being on hold for 2 hours is not appealing at all.

I'm about to start this process myself next month and this whole thread has been incredibly helpful! Just wanted to add one tip I learned from my financial advisor - if you're concerned about the timing gap between approval and setting up withholding, you can always make a voluntary tax payment directly to the IRS for the first quarter to cover yourself. That way you're not scrambling if there are delays with SSA processing your withholding request. You can do this online at irs.gov using Direct Pay. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - definitely saving me from some potential headaches!