Is My Social Security Taxable? Calculator

How the IRS decides how much is taxable

The IRS starts with a figure often called provisional or combined income: half of your Social Security, plus all your other income, plus any tax-exempt interest. It then compares that figure with two lines that depend on your filing status.

"Up to 85%" doesn't mean you pay an 85% tax. It means at most 85% of your benefits are added to your taxable income, where they are taxed at your normal rate. At least 15% of your benefits are always tax-free.

Those dollar lines were set in 1983 and 1993 and have never been adjusted for inflation, so every year more retirees cross them. A single filer with $24,000 of Social Security and $30,000 of other income has $11,300 of benefits taxed. Add $1,000 more of other income and the taxable part becomes $12,150.

Why one more dollar can count almost twice

In the band where your benefits are being pulled into taxable income, each extra dollar of other income, from an IRA withdrawal for example, is taxed itself and also makes another 50 or 85 cents of Social Security taxable. Each $1,000 withdrawn can add as much as $1,850 of taxable income. Tax planners call this the tax torpedo. Once 85% of your benefits are already taxable, the effect stops. The calculator shows what an extra $1,000 does in your case.

The $6,000 deduction for people 65 and older

• How much: $6,000 for each person 65 or older by the end of the year, $12,000 for a married couple when both qualify. It is on top of the regular standard deduction and the extra amount for age 65.
• Which years: tax years 2025 through 2028 only. It ends after 2028 unless Congress extends it.
• Income limit: each $6,000 shrinks by 6 cents for every dollar of modified adjusted gross income over $75,000 single or $150,000 joint. It is gone at $175,000 single, or $250,000 for a couple when both qualify.
• Who can't claim it: married people filing separately. Each person claimed needs a valid Social Security number on the return.
• Itemizers too: it is claimed on the new Schedule 1-A, whether you itemize or take the standard deduction.

It does not stop Social Security from being taxable; the worksheet above still decides that. It lowers taxable income afterward, which for many retirees cancels out most or all of the tax on their benefits.

The 2026 standard deduction

States that tax Social Security in 2026

Most states don't tax benefits at all. Eight still tax them for some residents, mostly those with higher incomes. West Virginia finished phasing out its tax in 2026, and Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska stopped in 2024.

• Colorado: At 65 and older, every dollar of Social Security can be deducted from Colorado income. From 55 to 64 it is fully deductible with AGI of $75,000 or less ($95,000 joint); above that, up to $20,000 of retirement income including benefits can be deducted. Colorado Department of Revenue.
• Connecticut: No state tax on benefits with AGI under $75,000 single or $100,000 joint. Above that, a partial exemption applies and no more than 25% of benefits can be taxed. Connecticut Department of Revenue Services.
• Minnesota: For 2026, no state tax on benefits with AGI up to $86,410 single or $110,780 joint, and a partial break up to $126,410 single or $150,780 joint. Above that, the federally taxable amount is taxed. Minnesota Department of Revenue.
• Montana: No tax on benefits with income under $25,000 single or $32,000 joint, as federally. Above that, Montana uses its own worksheet to work out the taxable amount. Montana Department of Revenue.
• New Mexico: Benefits are fully deductible with AGI under $100,000 single or $150,000 joint. Above that, the federally taxable amount counts as state income. New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department.
• Rhode Island: No state tax on benefits once you reach full retirement age, if AGI is under an income limit set each year ($107,000 single, $133,750 joint for 2025; check the 2026 figure with the state). Below full retirement age, the federally taxable amount is taxed. Rhode Island Division of Taxation.
• Utah: Utah taxes the federally taxable amount but gives a credit that cancels it fully with income of $54,000 or less single, or $90,000 or less joint or head of household. Above that the credit shrinks by 2.5 cents per dollar. Utah State Tax Commission.
• Vermont: Fully exempt with AGI of $55,000 or less single, or $70,000 or less joint. Partly exempt up to $65,000 single or $80,000 joint; above that, the federally taxable amount is taxed. Vermont Department of Taxes.

Paying the tax during the year

SSA doesn't withhold federal tax unless you ask. To have it taken from your checks, file Form W-4V with SSA and choose 7%, 10%, 12% or 22%. Otherwise you may need to pay quarterly estimated tax, or have more withheld from a pension or IRA withdrawal.

What this calculator leaves out

• The tax itself. It shows how much of your benefits is taxable and your taxable income after deductions, not the tax owed. Capital gains, credits and other parts of your return change that.
• Itemized deductions. It uses the standard deduction.
• Lump-sum back payments for earlier years, which have their own IRS worksheets.
• State tax amounts. It names your state's rule but doesn't compute the state tax.

Higher income can also raise your Medicare premiums two years later; the IRMAA calculator shows where the lines are. All the tools are on the calculators page.

Before you file

This page runs the IRS worksheet on the numbers you enter. It is not tax advice, and I'm not a tax professional. Your real return may include items this page doesn't see. A tax preparer, or the IRS's free VITA and Tax Counseling for the Elderly programs, can check it.