2015 Social Security Taxable?
Are your 2015 Social Security benefits taxable?
Like almost everything in the world of U.S. income tax, the answer is: it depends.
Do You Owe Tax on Your 2015 Social Security Benefits?
If you don’t owe tax on your 2015 Social Security income, you may not be required to file a tax return at all!
Here’s a quick way to learn whether you’re likely to owe:
- Total up your 2015 Social Security income (check your SSA-1099 for this total).
- Divide the number from step 1 by 2 (i.e., halve it).
- Total up all your other, non-Social Security 2015 income, including any tax-exempt interest.
- Add the result in step 2 to the total from step 3.
- Find your “base amount” for your filing status. These are:
- $25,000 if you’re single, head of household, qualifying widow or widower with a dependent child or married filing separately and lived apart from your spouse for all of 2015
- $32,000 – if you are married filing jointly
- $0 if you are married filing separately and lived with your spouse at any time during the year
- If the Total from step 4 is less than your base amount, you don’t owe tax on your 2015 Social Security income. Yay!
You Don’t Owe Tax on Social Security. So Must You File a Return?
If all of your 2015 income was Social Security, not only will you likely own no tax, you may not have to file a tax return at all!
The IRS has a handy interactive tool that will tell you in the end whether you need to file a return:
Do I Need to File a Tax Return?
Do you have to file?
