Imagine if an exceptionally large Social Security COLA . . .

caused you to pay income taxes (or higher taxes) because your “combined income” hit one of the brackets in the law❓

You could end up losing money 👎

You will pay tax on only 85 percent of your Social Security benefits, based on Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rules.

If you:

file a federal tax return as an “individual” and your combined income* is between $25,000 and $34,000, you may have to pay income tax on up to 50 percent of your benefits. more than $34,000, up to 85 percent of your benefits may be taxable.

file a joint return, and you and your spouse have a combined income* that is between $32,000 and $44,000, you may have to pay income tax on up to 50 percent of your benefits. more than $44,000, up to 85 percent of your benefits may be taxable.

are married and file a separate tax return, you probably will pay taxes on your benefits.

* Your adjusted gross income + Nontaxable interest + ½ of your Social Security benefits = Your “combined income”

Source: Benefits Planner | Income Taxes And Your Social Security Benefit | SSA

One comment

  1. I have not seen any articles on this in years. I assumed a lot of people were still below the limits or had passed through them already. It is a kick in the pants if one is caught up in the limits.

    Like

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