Not all of your Social Security income is subject to federal tax. In fact, you might not have to pay any taxes on benefits, depending on your income and on the source of your income.
In 2017, if you filed an individual tax return, and your modified adjusted gross income, or MAGI, was less than $25,000, you wouldn’t have paid any federal taxes on your Social Security income. If you earned between $25,000 and $34,000, 50 percent of your Social Security income was subject to federal taxes. If you earned more than that, then 85 percent of your Social Security income was taxed at the federal rate applicable to your federal income tax bracket.
If you filed a joint tax return, either in a traditional or in a same-sex marriage, 50 percent of Social Security income was taxed at the federal level if your modified adjusted gross income was between $32,000 and $44,000. If you both earned more than that, then 85 percent of your Social Security income was subject to federal taxes.