Must I pay taxes on Social Security benefits?

You must pay taxes on up to 85% of your Social Security benefits if you file a:

• Federal tax return as an "individual" and your "combined income" exceeds $25,000.
• Joint return, and you and your spouse have "combined income" of more than $32,000.

If you are married and file a separate return, you probably will have to pay taxes on your benefits. For more information go to the Income Taxes and Your Social Security Benefits page.

NOTE: "Combined income" includes your adjusted gross income, tax-exempt interest income, and one-half of your annual Social Security benefits.

If you receive Social Security benefits, you can ask us to withhold funds from your benefits, and we will credit them toward your federal taxes. You can sign in to or create a personal my Social Security account to check, start, change, or stop your Voluntary Tax Withholding (VTW) request rate online. This VTW self-help option will allow you to have federal taxes withheld timely, reducing the potential of owing outstanding federal taxes at the end of the tax year. If we withhold more funds from your benefits than you would need to pay in federal taxes, we will pay you the difference.