Q & A
Can I have taxes withheld from my Social Security check?
Complete Question: I am kicking myself because I filed my income taxes for 2014 and owed a lot of money. I kept hearing that I didn’t really need to worry about my Social Security benefits, so I didn’t. Little did I know that my withdrawals from my IRA were going to cause such a big problem. I’m thinking that it might help me budget for next year if Social Security were to just withhold income tax from my benefit, but they’ve never done that before. Is that even an option? If it is, how do I get them to do it?
Answer: Actually, you can have income tax withheld from your benefit – all you have to do is make a request. You need to fill out the form W-4V, which is similar to a W-4 that you would fill out for an employer (“V” stands for “Voluntary” because you do not have to have taxes withheld from your benefit). It is a very short, simple form that Social Security supplies on their website. The major difference between a W-4 and a W-4V is that the W-4V asks how much you want taken out of your benefit. You are allowed to choose from 7%, 10%, 15%, or 25% of your benefit amount, but you cannot choose a dollar amount or a different percentage not listed.
If at any time you want to either change the percentage or stop the withholding altogether, you fill out the same form and simply check a different box.