Taxable Social Security Calculator

How this calculator works

Up to 85% of your Social Security benefits can be subject to federal income tax, depending on your other income. Many retirees pay no tax on their benefits at all, while others are surprised to find part of them taxable. This calculator follows the logic of the worksheet in IRS Publication 915 to estimate how much of your benefit counts as taxable income.

The inputs. Choose your filing status, then enter your total Social Security benefits for the year (box 5 of Form SSA-1099), your other taxable income such as pensions, traditional IRA or 401(k) withdrawals, wages and taxable interest, and any tax-exempt interest, such as from municipal bonds.

Step 1: Provisional income. Provisional (or combined) income = other taxable income + tax-exempt interest + 50% of your Social Security.

Step 2: Compare with the base amounts. These thresholds are set in law and are not adjusted for inflation.

Step 3: Taxable amount. If provisional income is between the two thresholds, the taxable amount is the smaller of 50% of benefits or 50% of the income above the first threshold. If it is above the second threshold, the taxable amount is the smaller of (a) 85% of benefits or (b) 85% of the income above the second threshold plus the smaller of $4,500 (single) or $6,000 (joint) or 50% of benefits.

Worked example. Patricia is single. She receives $24,000 a year in Social Security and $30,000 from a pension and IRA withdrawals, with no tax-exempt interest.

• Provisional income = $30,000 + $0 + ($24,000 × 50%) = $42,000.
• That is above $34,000, so the 85% tier applies.
• Income over $34,000 = $8,000; 85% of that = $6,800.
• Add the smaller of $4,500 or 50% of benefits ($12,000): $4,500.
• $6,800 + $4,500 = $11,300. Compare with 85% of benefits ($20,400). The smaller figure is $11,300.

So $11,300 of Patricia's $24,000 in benefits, about 47%, is added to her taxable income. That does not mean she pays $11,300 in tax; it is the amount that gets taxed at her bracket rate after deductions. To estimate the actual tax, including the standard deduction and the new $6,000 senior deduction, use our senior tax calculator. Our guide to whether Social Security is taxable explains the rules in more depth.

Limits of this estimate. The tool covers federal tax only. It does not handle lump-sum payments for earlier years, IRA deduction adjustments, foreign income exclusions or certain other items on the full Pub 915 worksheet. Some states also tax benefits; see our state tax on Social Security tool. SSI payments are never taxable and should not be entered here.