IRS Publication 17 — Your Federal Income Tax (Individuals)

tax return instructions to find out if you have to file a return.

Base amount. Your base amount is:

• $25,000 if you are single, head of household, or qualifying surviving spouse;

• $25,000 if you are married filing separately and lived apart from your spouse for all of 2025;

• $32,000 if you are married filing jointly; or

• $0 if you are married filing separately and lived with your spouse at any time during 2025.

Worksheet 7-1. You can use Worksheet 7-1 to figure the amount of income to compare with your base amount. This is a quick way to check whether some of your benefits may be taxable. Worksheet 7-1. A Quick Way To Check if Your Benefits May Be Taxable Note: If you plan to file a joint income tax return, include your spouse's amounts, if any, on lines A, C, and D.

A. Enter the total amount from box 5 of all your Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099.

Include the full amount of any lump-sum benefit payments received in 2025, for 2025 and earlier years. (If you received more than one form, combine the amounts from box 5 and enter the total.) … A.

Note: If the amount on line A is zero or less, stop here; none of your benefits are taxable this year.

B. Multiply line A by 50% (0.50) … B.

C. Enter your total income that is taxable (excluding line A), such as pensions, wages, interest, ordinary dividends, and capital gain distributions. Don’t reduce your income by any deductions, exclusions (listed earlier), or exemptions … C.

D. Enter any tax-exempt interest income, such as interest on municipal bonds … D.

E. Add lines B, C, and D … E.

Note: Compare the amount on line Eto your base amount for your filing status. If the amount on line Eequals or is less than the base amount for your filing status, none of your benefits are taxable this year. If the amount on line Eis more than your base amount, some of your benefits may be taxable and you will need to complete Worksheet 1 in Pub. 915 (or the Social Security Benefits Worksheet in your tax form instructions). If none of your benefits are taxable, but you must otherwise file a tax return, see Benefits not taxable, later, under How T o Report Your Benefits.

Example. You are over 65 and are filing a single return for 2025 and you received social security benefits during the year. In January 2026, you received a Form SSA -1099 showing net benefits of $1,500 in box 5. You also received a taxable pension of $17,000 and interest income of $700. You didn’t have any tax-exempt interest income. Your benefits aren’t taxable for 2025 because your income, as figured in Worksheet 7 -1, isn’t more than your base amount ($25,000) for single.

Even though none of your benefits are taxable, you must file a return for 2025 because your taxable gross income ($18,450) exceeds the minimum filing requirement amount for your filing status. Filled-in Worksheet 7-1. A Quick Way To Check if Your Benefits May Be Taxable Note: If you plan to file a joint income tax return, include your spouse's amounts, if any, on lines A, C, and D.

A. Enter the total amount from box 5 of all your Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099.

Include the full amount of any lump-sum benefit payments received in 2025, for 2025 and earlier years. (If you received more than one form, combine the amounts from box 5 and enter the total.) … A. $1,500 Note: If the amount on line A is zero or less, stop here; none of your benefits are taxable this year.

B. Multiply line A by 50% (0.50) … B. 750 C. Enter your total income that is taxable (excluding line A), such as pensions, wages, interest, ordinary dividends, and capital gain distributions. Don’t reduce your income by any deductions, exclusions (listed earlier), or exemptions … C. 17,700 D. Enter any tax-exempt interest income, such as interest on municipal bonds … D. -0E. Add lines B, C, and D ... E. $18,450 Note: Compare the amount on line Eto your base amount for your filing status. If the amount on line Eequals or is less than the base amount for your filing status, none of your benefits are taxable this year. If the amount on line Eis more than your base amount, some of your benefits may be taxable and you will need to complete Worksheet 1 in Pub. 915 (or the Social Security Benefits Worksheet in your tax form instructions). If none of your benefits are taxable, but you otherwise must file a tax return, see Benefits not taxable, later, under How T o Report Your Benefits.

Who is taxed. Benefits are included in the taxable income (to the extent they are taxable) of the person who has the legal right to receive the benefits. For example, if you and your child receive benefits, but the check for your child is made out in your name, you must use only your part of the benefits to see whether any benefits are taxable to you. One -half of the part that belongs to your child must be added to your child’s other income to see whether any of those benefits are taxable to your child. Repayment of benefits. Any repayment of benefits you made during 2025 must be subtracted from the gross benefits you received in 2025. It doesn’t matter whether the repayment was for a benefit you received in 2025 or in an earlier year. If you repaid more than the gross benefits you received in 2025, see Repayments More Than Gross Benefits, later.

Your gross benefits are shown in box 3 of Form SSA-1099 or RRB-1099. Your repayments are shown in box 4. The amount in box 5 shows your net benefits for 2025 (box 3 minus box 4). Use the amount in box 5 to figure whether any of your benefits are taxable.

Tax withholding and estimated tax. You can choose to have federal income tax withheld from your social security benefits and/or the SSEB portion of your tier 1 railroad retirement benefits. If you choose to do this, you must complete a Form W-4V .

If you don’t choose to have income tax withheld, you may have to request additional withholding from other income or pay estimated tax during the year. For details, see chapter 4, earlier; Pub. 505; or the Instructions for Form 1040-ES.

How To Report Your Benefits If part of your benefits are taxable, you must use Form 1040 or 1040-SR.

Reporting on Form 1040 or 1040-SR. Report your net benefits (the total amount from box 5 of all your Forms SSA -1099 and RRB -1099) on line 6a and the taxable part on line 6b. If you are married filing separately and you lived apart from your spouse for all of 2025, check the box on line 6d.

Benefits not taxable. Report your net benefits (the total amount from box 5 of all your Forms SSA-1099 and RRB -1099) on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line 6a. Enter -0- on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line 6b. If you are married filing separately and lived apart from your spouse the entire year, check the box on line 6d of Form 1040 or 1040-SR and see Instructions for Form 1040. How Much Is Taxable?

If part of your benefits are taxable, how much is taxable depends on the total amount of your benefits and other income. Generally, the higher that total amount, the greater the taxable part of your benefits.

Maximum taxable part. Generally, up to 50% of your benefits will be taxable. However, up to Publication 17 (2025) Chapter 7 Social Security and Equivalent Railroad Retirement Benefits 63