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Your Social Security Benefits May or May Not Be Taxable - CPAPracticeAdvisor.com
Usually, when someone’s only income is Social Security benefits, those benefits are not taxable. If you have other income, a portion of it may become taxable, increasing your risk of tax liability. Thresholds for individuals and couples differ. If an individual’s modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) reaches $25,000, up to 50% of benefits may be taxed. A married couple’s benefits start becoming taxable when their MAGI reaches $32,000. MAGI includes 50% of Social Security benefits and any non-taxable interest, added to your AGI. These income levels were set in 1983, so even a modest increase in income can raise your tax risk.
The additional $6,000 standard deduction for seniors over 65 included in your 2025 tax return, if you qualified per the income limits, may have eliminated those taxes or may not have eliminated all of them. Everyone is affected by how much tax they will pay on their Social Security benefits, depending on their personal income. For more insight on various situations influencing your tax liability, Lee Guthrie has written an article quoting Anthony Hughes, CPA: “Tahlequah, OH-based CPA Anthony Hughes said many taxpayers do not understand how taxes and Social Security benefits work, and it keeps coming up when they file their returns.” Click here … to read his enlightening article and gain a clearer understanding.
At the AMAC Foundation, we have a staff of Accredited Social Security Advisors; however, we are not tax advisors. If you have Social Security questions, please email them to ssadvisor@amacfoundation.org or call (888) 750-2622.
This posting is presented for informational purposes only and does not represent legal or financial guidance. Any opinions or interpretations presented are either those of the original author or, in the case of articles authored by the AMAC Foundation, are the opinions of AMAC Foundation staff, originally trained and accredited by the National Social Security Association (NSSA) and certified via the AMAC Foundation. Any links included in the article are valid on the posted date; socialsecurityreport.org cannot guarantee the duration of the links’ validity. NSSA and the AMAC Foundation and its staff are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Social Security Administration or any other governmental entity. To submit a question, visit our website (https://amacfoundation.org/services/) or email us at ssadvisor@amacfoundation.org. Because we are a non-profit organization, there is no charge for these services.