There are a few things to evaluate when determining whether your Social Security benefits are taxable or not. How much of your benefits are taxable depends on total income and marital status. If you receive Social Security benefits in 2009 and had other income then you need to determine if the benefits are taxable.
In general, if Social Security benefits are your only source of income your benefits are not taxable and you probably do not need to file a tax return. If you receive income from other sources your benefits will not be taxed unless your modified adjusted gross income is more than the base amount for your filing status.
To figure these amounts see the worksheet in the Form 1040 instruction booklet. Here is a quick computation to determine whether some of your benefits will be taxable:
1) Add one half of your benefits you received to all other income, including tax exempt income.
2) Compare this total to the base amount of your filing status. If the total is more than the base amount established by the IRS then some of your benefits will be taxable.
The base amount for 2009 is as follows
$32,000 for married couples filing jointly
$25,000 for single, head of household
For more information on whether or not your benefits are taxable please refer to IRS Publication 915. Go to www.irs.gov and in the search engine put in social security benefits. It goes into more detail about how to determine your taxable income when you receive Social Security benefits and other income as well.
Hello! I'm Kelly. I have been a tax preparer for several years. I work with small businesses and take care of their business tax and bookkeeping needs.. I submit my articles online to help folks understand things like Earned Income Credit, which nobody understands, and things like the First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit which only affects you if you bought a home this year.
You can read articles on my website at http://www.kaybeescafe.com to get more information or you can visit the IRS website at http://www.irs.gov.
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