IRS Publication 554 — Tax Guide for Seniors

Your gross benefits are shown in box 3 of Form SSA-1099 or Form 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 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 , Voluntary Withholding Request. 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 Pub. 505, or the instructions for Form 1040 -ES, Estimated Tax for Individuals. 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. The taxable part of your benefits usually can’t be more than 50%. However, up to 85% of your benefits can be taxable if either of the following situations applies to you.

• The total of one-half of your benefits and all your other income is more than $34,000 ($44,000 if you are married filing jointly).

• You are married filing separately and lived with your spouse at any time during 2025.

If you are a nonresident alien, 85% of your benefits are taxable. However, this income is exempt under some tax treaties.

Which worksheet to use. A worksheet to figure your taxable benefits is in the Instructions for Form 1040. However, you will need to use a different worksheet(s) if any of the following situations applies to you.

1. You contributed to a traditional IRA and you or your spouse was covered by a retirement plan at work. In this situation, you must use the special worksheets in Pub. 590-A to figure both your IRA deduction and your taxable benefits.

2. Situation (1) doesn’t apply and you take one or more of the following exclusions.

• Interest from qualified U.S. savings bonds (Form 8815, Exclusion of Interest From Series EE and I U.S. Savings Bonds Issued After 1989).

• Employer-provided adoption benefits (Form 8839, Qualified Adoption Expenses).

Worksheet 2-A. A Quick Way To Check if Your Benefits May Be Taxable Keep for Your Records A. Enter the 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. Enter one-half of the amount on line A … B. C. Enter your taxable pensions, wages, interest, dividends, and other taxable income … C. D. Enter any tax-exempt interest income (such as interest on municipal bonds) plus any exclusions from income 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 … D. E. Add lines B, C, and Dand enter the total … E. F . If you are:

• Married filing jointly, enter $32,000;

• Single, head of household, qualifying surviving spouse, or married filing separately and you lived apart from your spouse for all of 2025, enter $25,000; or

• Married filing separately and you lived with your spouse at any time during 2025, enter -0- … F .

G. Is the amount on line Fless than or equal to the amount on line E? No. None of your benefits are taxable this year. Yes. Some of your benefits may be taxable. T o figure how much of your benefits are taxable, see Which worksheet to use under How Much Is Taxable. 12 Chapter 2 Taxable and Nontaxable Income Publication 554 (2025)