IRS Publication 554 — Tax Guide for Seniors

Military Retirement Pay Military retirement pay based on age or length of service is taxable and must be included in income as a pension on Form 1040, 1040 -SR, or 1040 -NR, lines 5a and 5b. However, certain military and government disability pensions that are based on a percentage of disability from active service in the armed forces of any country generally aren’t taxable. For more information, including information about veterans’ benefits and insurance, see Pub. 525. Social Security and Equivalent Railroad Retirement Benefits This discussion explains the federal income tax rules for social security benefits and equivalent tier 1 railroad retirement benefits. Social security benefits include monthly retirement, survivor, and disability benefits. They don’t include supplemental security income (SSI) payments, which aren’t taxable. Equivalent tier 1 railroad retirement benefits are the part of tier 1 benefits that a railroad employee or beneficiary would have been entitled to receive under the social security system. They are commonly called the social security equivalent benefit (SSEB) portion of tier 1 benefits. If you received these benefits during 2025, you should have received a Form SSA -1099 or Form RRB -1099 (Form SSA-1042S or Form RRB -1042S if you are a nonresident alien) showing the amount of the benefits. Social Security Information Obtaining social security information. Social security beneficiaries may quickly and easily obtain various information from the SSA’s website with a my Social Security account to:

• Keep track of your earnings and verify them every year,

• Get an estimate of your future benefits if you are still working,

• Get a letter with proof of your benefits if you currently receive them,

• Change your address,

• Start or change your direct deposit,

• Get a replacement Medicare card, and

• Get a replacement Form SSA-1099 or SSA-1042S for the tax season.

For more information and to set up an account, go to SSA.gov/myaccount.

Are Any of Your Benefits Taxable?

Note: When the term “benefits” is used in this section, it applies to both social security benefits and the SSEB portion of tier 1 railroad retirement benefits. T o find out whether any of your benefits may be taxable, compare the base amount for your filing status (explained later) with the total of:

• One-half of your benefits; plus

• All your other income, including tax-exempt interest. When making this comparison, don’t reduce your other income by any exclusions for:

• Interest from qualified U.S. savings bonds,

• Employer-provided adoption benefits,

• Foreign earned income or foreign housing, or

• Income earned in American Samoa or Puerto Rico by bona fide residents.

Figuring total income. T o figure the total of one-half of your benefits plus your other income, use Worksheet 2-A. If that total amount is more than your base amount, part of your benefits may be taxable.

If you are married and file a joint return for 2025, you and your spouse must combine your incomes and your benefits to figure whether any of your combined benefits are taxable. Even if your spouse didn’t receive any benefits, you must add your spouse’s income to yours to figure whether any of your benefits are taxable.

If the only income you received during 2025 was your social security or the SSEB portion of tier 1 railroad retirement benefits, your benefits generally aren’t taxable and you probably don’t have to file a return. If you have income in addition to your benefits, you may have to file a return even if none of your benefits are taxable.

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.

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. TIP Publication 554 (2025) Chapter 2 Taxable and Nontaxable Income 11