Will selling my house affect my Social Security benefits next year?

Good news - selling your primary residence shouldn't affect your Social Security benefits at all. The capital gains from selling your primary home are excluded from the earnings test that could reduce benefits. For a single person, up to $250,000 in profit is tax-free (or $500,000 for married couples). Since you bought at $175k and are selling around $320k, you're well within that exclusion limit. The only income that affects Social Security benefits before Full Retirement Age is earned income from working (wages, self-employment). Capital gains from selling your house don't count for the SS earnings test.

my sister sold her house last yr and SS didnt change at all!! dont worry about it

The previous responses are correct. Sale of your primary residence is not considered earned income for Social Security purposes. You only need to worry about the earnings limit if you're below your Full Retirement Age (FRA) and still working. At 67, you're already at or past your FRA, so even if you were working, the earnings limit wouldn't apply to you anyway. The capital gains from your house sale might affect the taxation of your Social Security benefits if it pushes your combined income high enough, but that's a separate issue from having your actual benefit amount reduced.

To clarify about taxation: Up to 85% of your Social Security benefits can be subject to income tax depending on your "combined income" (adjusted gross income + nontaxable interest + half of SS benefits). For individuals: - If combined income is between $25,000-$34,000, up to 50% of benefits may be taxable - If combined income exceeds $34,000, up to 85% may be taxable For the house sale specifically, since you've owned and lived in it as your primary residence for at least 2 of the last 5 years, you qualify for the capital gains exclusion ($250,000 for individuals, $500,000 for married couples). Any profit above those thresholds would be subject to capital gains tax and could potentially affect the taxation of your benefits.

THE SSA DOESNT CARE ABOUT YOUR HOUSE SALE!!! But the IRS sure does!! They'll take every penny they can get their hands on. And then they'll tell SSA about your "higher income" and next thing you know you're paying taxes on benefits that YOU ALREADY PAID INTO YOUR WHOLE LIFE!!! The whole system is designed to take from retirees. My brother paid taxes on 85% of his SS last year because he sold a rental property. DOUBLE TAXATION!!

I had to call Social Security last month about a similar situation (I sold family farmland) and was really worried about my benefits. I couldn't get through for days - busy signals, disconnects, or wait times over 2 hours. I finally used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to a real person at SSA in under 15 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU The agent confirmed that capital gains from property sales don't affect your benefit amount. Saved me so much stress! Might be worth calling to get confirmation specific to your situation.

Quick question: did you live in the house for at least 2 years? That matters for the tax exclusion thing they were talking about

My husband and I went through exact same situation in June. Sold our home of 30yrs and downsized to condo. Made about $200k profit and NOTHING happened to our SS checks. They stayed exactly the same amount. Dont worry about it at all!!!!

I'm so confused about all this tax stuff everyone's talking about. I thought this was just about whether SS payments would go down? Now I'm worried about taxes too. Does anyone know if you have to TELL Social Security when you sell your house?

Thank you all for the helpful responses! I feel much better knowing that selling my house won't reduce my monthly SS benefit amount. I understand I might have some tax considerations, but since I'm well under the $250,000 capital gains exclusion, even that shouldn't be a big issue. I really appreciate everyone sharing their knowledge and experiences!

Just wanted to add that I went through this exact situation two years ago when I sold my family home. I was 68 and really worried about my benefits being affected. The SSA customer service rep I spoke with was very clear - capital gains from selling your primary residence do NOT count as earned income for Social Security purposes. Your monthly benefit amount will stay the same. The only thing that can reduce your actual SS payments is earned income from working if you're under full retirement age. Since you're 67, you're past that point anyway. Good luck with your sale and enjoy your new condo!

I went through something similar when I sold my house in 2019. The key thing to remember is that Social Security distinguishes between "earned income" (wages, self-employment) and other types of income like capital gains. Only earned income can affect your benefits if you're under full retirement age. Since you're 67, you're already past full retirement age anyway, so even if it were earned income (which it's not), it wouldn't matter. The house sale proceeds are treated as capital gains, not earned income, so SSA won't even consider it when calculating your benefits. Your monthly checks will continue unchanged. The tax implications others mentioned are separate from your actual benefit amount - that's between you and the IRS, not SSA.

I'm glad I found this thread! I'm in a very similar situation - I'm 66 and considering selling my home next year to downsize. Reading through everyone's responses has been incredibly helpful. It's such a relief to know that the sale won't affect my monthly Social Security payments. I was also worried about having to navigate the SSA phone system to report the sale, but it sounds like that's not even necessary since it's not considered earned income. The tax implications seem manageable too, especially with the primary residence capital gains exclusion. Thanks to everyone who shared their real experiences - it's so much more reassuring than just reading government websites!

I went through this exact same worry when I sold my home last year at age 69. Like many others have shared, I can confirm that selling your primary residence will NOT affect your Social Security benefits at all. The sale proceeds are considered capital gains, not earned income, so SSA doesn't even factor them into any calculations about your monthly payments. What really helped me was understanding that Social Security only cares about "earned income" from working (wages, self-employment income) and only if you're under full retirement age. At 67, you're already past full retirement age, so even if this were considered earned income (which it's not), it still wouldn't matter. The $145,000 profit you mentioned is well within the $250,000 capital gains exclusion for primary residences, so you likely won't owe any federal taxes on it either. Your Social Security checks will continue at exactly the same amount. Best of luck with your move to the condo - downsizing was one of the best financial decisions I made!

As someone who's been through the SSA system for years, I can confirm what everyone else is saying - selling your primary residence absolutely will NOT reduce your Social Security benefits. I work part-time helping seniors navigate these situations, and this is one of the most common worries I hear. The key distinction is that SSA only looks at "earned income" (wages from jobs, self-employment income) when determining if benefits should be reduced, and only for people under full retirement age. Capital gains from selling your home don't count as earned income at all. At 67, you're already past full retirement age anyway, so even if this were considered earned income (which it's not), the earnings test wouldn't apply to you. Your monthly Social Security payments will continue unchanged. Given your purchase price of $175k and expected sale of $320k, your $145k profit is well under the $250k capital gains exclusion for primary residences, so you likely won't owe federal taxes on the sale either. You're in great shape financially with this decision!