Publication 915 (2015) SOCIAL SECURITY AND EQUIVALENT RAILROAD RETIREMENT BENEFITS
Publication 915 (2015)
- Institutional AuthorsInternal Revenue Service
- Jurisdictions
- LanguageEnglish
Reminders
Future developments. For the latest information about developments related to Pub. 915, such as legislation enacted after it was published, go to http://www.irs.gov/pub915. my Social Security account. Social Security beneficiaries may quickly and easily obtain various information from the SSA's website with a my Social Security account to:
• Keep track of your earnings and verify them every year;
• Get an estimate of your future benefits if you are still working;
• Get a letter with proof of your benefits if you currently receive them;
• Change your address;
• Start or change your direct deposit;
• Get a replacement Medicare card; and
• Get a replacement Form SSA-1099 or SSA-1042S for the tax season.
For more information and to set up an account, go to
http://www.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount.
Photographs of missing children. The Internal Revenue Service is a proud partner with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Photographs of missing children selected by the Center may appear in this publication on pages that would otherwise be blank. You can help bring these children home by looking at the photographs and calling 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) if you recognize a child.
This publication explains the federal income tax rules for social security benefits and equivalent tier 1 railroad retirement benefits. It is prepared through the joint efforts of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Social Security Administration (SSA), and the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board (RRB).
Social security benefits include monthly retirement, survivor, and disability benefits. They do not include Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments, which are not taxable.
Equivalent tier 1 railroad retirement benefits are the part of tier 1 benefits that a railroad employee or beneficiary would have been entitled to receive under the social security system. They are commonly called the social security equivalent benefit (SSEB) portion of tier 1 benefits.
If you received these benefits during 2015, you should have received a Form SSA-1099, Social Security Benefit Statement; Form RRB-1099, Payments by the Railroad Retirement Board; Form SSA-1042S, Social Security Benefit Statement; or Form RRB-1042S, Statement for Nonresident Alien Recipients of Payments by the Railroad Retirement Board, showing the amount.
Note. When the term "benefits" is used in this publication, it applies to both social security benefits and the SSEB portion of tier 1 railroad retirement benefits.
What is covered in this publication. This publication covers the following topics.
• Whether any of your benefits are taxable.
• How much is taxable.
• How to report taxable benefits.
• How to treat lump-sum benefit payments.
• Deductions related to your benefits, including a deduction or credit you can claim if your repayments are more than your gross benefits.
The
Appendixat the end of this publication explains items shown on your Form SSA-1099, SSA-1042S, RRB-1099, or RRB-1042S.
What is not covered in this publication. This publication does not cover the tax rules for the following railroad retirement benefits.
• Non-social security equivalent benefit (NSSEB) portion of tier 1 benefits.
• Tier 2 benefits.
• Vested dual benefits.
• Supplemental annuity benefits.
For information on these taxable pension benefits, see
Pub. 575, Pension and Annuity Income.
This publication also does not cover the tax rules for foreign social security benefits. These benefits are taxable as annuities, unless they are exempt from U.S. tax or treated as a U.S. social security benefit under a tax treaty.
Comments and suggestions. We welcome your comments about this publication and your suggestions for future editions.
You can send us comments from http://www.irs.gov/formspubs. Click on "More Information" and then on "Give us feedback."
Or you can write to:
Internal Revenue Service Tax Forms and Publications 1111 Constitution Ave. NW, IR-6526 Washington, DC 20224
We respond to many letters by telephone. Therefore, it would be helpful if you would include your daytime phone number, including the area code, in your correspondence.
Although we cannot respond individually to each comment received, we do appreciate your feedback and will consider your comments as we revise our tax products.
Ordering forms and publications. Visit http://www.irs.gov/formspubs to download forms and publications. Otherwise, you can go to http://www.irs.gov/orderforms to order current and prior-year forms and instructions. Your order should arrive within 10 business days.
Tax questions. If you have a tax question not answered by this publication, check IRS.gov and How To Get Tax Help at the end of this publication.
Useful Items
You may want to see:
Publication
•
Publication 505Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax
• Publication 575 Pension and Annuity Income
• Publication 590-A Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs)
Forms (and Instructions)
•
Form 1040-ESEstimated Tax for Individuals
• Form SSA-1099 Social Security Benefit Statement
• Form RRB-1099 Payments by the Railroad Retirement Board
• Form W-4V Voluntary Withholding Request
See
How To Get Tax Helpnear the end of this publication for information about getting these publications and forms.
Are Any of Your Benefits Taxable?
To find out whether any of your benefits shown on Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099 may be taxable, compare the base amount (explained later) for your filing status with the total of:
1. One-half of your benefits, plus
2. All your other income, including tax-exempt interest.
Exclusions.
When making this comparison, do not reduce your other income by any exclusions for:
• Interest from qualified U.S. savings bonds,
• Employer-provided adoption benefits,
• Foreign earned income or foreign housing, or
• Income earned by bona fide residents of American Samoa or Puerto Rico.
Children's benefits.
The rules in this publication apply to benefits received by children. See
Who is taxed,later.
TIP: The SSA issues Form SSA-1099 and Form SSA-1042S. The RRB issues Form RRB-1099 and Form RRB-1042S. These forms (tax statements) report the amounts paid and repaid, and taxes withheld for a tax year. You may receive more than one of these forms for the same tax year. See the Appendix at the end of this publication for more information.
Each original Form RRB-1099 or Form RRB-1042S is valid unless it has been corrected. The RRB will issue a corrected Form RRB-1099 or Form RRB-1042S if there is an error in the original. A corrected Form RRB-1099 or Form RRB-1042S is indicated as "CORRECTED" and replaces the corresponding original Form RRB-1099 or Form RRB-1042S. You must use the latest corrected Form RRB-1099 or Form RRB-1042S you received and any original Form RRB-1099 or Form RRB-1042S that the RRB has not corrected when you determine what amounts to report on your tax return.
Figuring total income. To figure the total of one-half of your benefits plus your other income, use Worksheet A, discussed later. If the total is more than your base amount, part of your benefits may be taxable.
If you are married and file a joint return for 2015, you and your spouse must combine your incomes and your benefits to figure whether any of your combined benefits are taxable. Even if your spouse did not receive any benefits, you must add your spouse's income to yours to figure whether any of your benefits are taxable.
TIP: If the only income you received during 2015 was your social security or the SSEB portion of tier 1 railroad retirement benefits, your benefits generally are not taxable and you probably do not have to file a return. If you have income in addition to your benefits, you may have to file a return even if none of your benefits are taxable.
Base amount. Your base amount is:
• $25,000 if you are single, head of household, or qualifying widow(er);
• $25,000 if you are married filing separately and lived apart from your spouse for all of 2015;
• $32,000 if you are married filing jointly; or
• $-0- if you are married filing separately and lived with your spouse at any time during 2015.
Worksheet A
You can use Worksheet A to figure the amount of income to compare with your base amount. This is a quick way to check whether some of your benefits may be taxable.
Worksheet A. A Quick Way To Check if Your Benefits May Be Taxable
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Note.
If you plan to file a joint income tax return, include
your spouse's amounts, if any, on lines A, C, and D.
A. Enter the amount from
box 5
of all your Forms SSA-1099
and RRB-1099. Include the full amount of any lump-sum
benefit payments received in 2015, for 2015 and earlier
years. (If you received more than one form, combine the
amounts from box 5 and enter the total.) A. ______
Note.
If the amount on line A is zero or less, stop here;
none of your benefits are taxable this year.
B. Enter one-half of line A B. ______
C. Enter your total income that is taxable (excluding line
A), such as pensions, wages, interest, ordinary
dividends, and capital gain distributions. Do not
reduce your income by any deductions, exclusions (listed
earlier), or exemptions C. ______
D. Enter any tax-exempt interest income such as interest on
municipal bonds D. ______
E. Add lines B, C, and D E.
======
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Note.
Compare the amount on line E to your
base amount
for your filing
status. If the amount on line E equals or is less than the
base amount
for your filing status, none of your benefits are taxable this year.
If the amount on line E is more than your
base amount,
some of your
benefits may be taxable. You need to complete Worksheet 1, shown
later. If none of your benefits are taxable, but you otherwise must
file a tax return, see
Benefits not taxable
, later, under
How to
Report Your Benefits.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Example.
You and your spouse (both over 65) are filing a joint return for 2015 and you both received social security benefits during the year. In January 2016, you received a Form SSA-1099 showing net benefits of $7,500 in box 5. Your spouse received a Form SSA-1099 showing net benefits of $3,500 in box 5. You also received a taxable pension of $22,800 and interest income of $500. You did not have any tax-exempt interest income. Your benefits are not taxable for 2015 because your income, as figured in Worksheet A below, is not more than your base amount ($32,000) for married filing jointly.
Even though none of your benefits are taxable, you must file a return for 2015 because your taxable gross income ($23,300) exceeds the minimum filing requirement amount for your filing status.
Filled-in Worksheet A. A Quick Way To Check if Your Benefits May Be Taxable
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Note.
If you plan to file a joint income tax return, include your
spouse's amounts, if any, on lines A, C, and D.
A. Enter the amount from
box 5
of all your Forms SSA-1099
and RRB-1099. Include the full amount of any lump-sum
benefit payments received in 2015, for 2015 and earlier
years. (If you received more than one form, combine the
amounts from box 5 and enter the total.) A.
$11,000
Note.
If the amount on line A is zero or less, stop here;
none of your benefits are taxable this year.
B. Enter one-half of line A B.
5,500
C. Enter your total income that is taxable (excluding line
A), such pensions, wages, interest, ordinary dividends,
and capital gain distributions. Do not reduce your
income by any deductions, exclusions (listed earlier),
or exemptions C.
23,300
D. Enter any tax-exempt interest income such as interest
on municipal bonds D.
-0-
E. Add lines B, C, and D E. $28,800
=======
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Note.
Compare the amount on line E to your
base amount
for your filing
status. If the amount on line E equals or is less than the
base amount
for your filing status, none of your benefits are taxable this year.
If the amount on line E is more than your
base amount
, some of your
benefits may be taxable. You need to complete Worksheet 1, shown
later. If none of your benefits are taxable, but you otherwise must
file a tax return, see
Benefits not taxable
, later, under
How To
Report Your Benefits.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Who is taxed.
Benefits are included in the taxable income (to the extent they are taxable) of the person who has the legal right to receive the benefits. For example, if you and your child receive benefits, but the check for your child is made out in your name, you must use only your part of the benefits to see whether any benefits are taxable to you. One-half of the part that belongs to your child must be added to your child's other income to see whether any of those benefits are taxable to your child.
Repayment of benefits. Any repayment of benefits you made during 2015 must be subtracted from the gross benefits you received in 2015. It does not matter whether the repayment was for a benefit you received in 2015 or in an earlier year. If you repaid more than the gross benefits you received in 2015, see Repayments More Than Gross Benefits, later.
Your gross benefits are shown in box 3 of Form SSA-1099 or Form RRB-1099. Your repayments are shown in box 4. The amount in box 5 shows your net benefits for 2015 (box 3 minus box 4). Use the amount in box 5 to figure whether any of your benefits are taxable.
Example. In 2014, you received $3,000 in social security benefits, and in 2015 you received $2,700. In March 2015, SSA notified you that you should have received only $2,500 in benefits in 2014. During 2015, you repaid $500 to SSA. The Form SSA-1099 you received for 2015 shows $2,700 in box 3 (gross amount) and $500 in box 4 (repayment). The amount in box 5 shows your net benefits of $2,200 ($2,700 minus $500).
Tax withholding and estimated tax. You can choose to have federal income tax withheld from your social security benefits and/or the SSEB portion of your tier 1 railroad retirement benefits. If you choose to do this, you must complete a Form W-4V, Voluntary Withholding Statement.
If you do not choose to have income tax withheld, you may have to request additional withholding from other income or pay estimated tax during the year. For details, see Pub. 505, Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax, or the instructions for Form 1040-ES, Estimated Tax for Individuals.
U.S. citizens residing abroad. U.S. citizens who are residents of the following countries are exempt from U.S. tax on their benefits.
• Canada.
• Egypt.
• Germany.
• Ireland.
• Israel.
• Italy. (You must also be a citizen of Italy for the exemption to apply.)
• Romania.
• United Kingdom.
The SSA will not withhold U.S. tax from your benefits if you are a U.S. citizen.
The RRB will withhold U.S. tax from your benefits unless you file Form RRB-1001, Nonresident Questionnaire, with the RRB to provide citizenship and residency information. If you do not file Form RRB-1001, the RRB will consider you a nonresident alien and withhold tax from your railroad retirement benefits at a 30% rate. Contact the RRB to get this form.
Lawful permanent residents. For U.S. income tax purposes, lawful permanent residents (green card holders) are considered resident aliens until their lawful permanent resident status under the immigration laws is either taken away or is administratively or judicially determined to have been abandoned. Social security benefits paid to a green card holder are not subject to 30% withholding. If you are a green card holder and tax was withheld in error on your social security benefits because you have a foreign address, the withholding tax is refundable by the Social Security Administration (SSA) or the IRS. SSA will refund taxes erroneously withheld if the refund can be processed during the same calendar year in which the tax was withheld. If SSA cannot refund the taxes withheld, you must file a 1040A with the Internal Revenue Service Center, Austin, TX 73301 to determine if you are entitled to a refund. You must also attach the following information to your Form 1040 or 1040A.
• A copy of the Form SSA-1042S, Social Security Benefit Statement.
• A copy of the "green card."
• A signed declaration that includes the following statements:
"The SSA should not have withheld federal income tax from my social security benefits because I am a U.S. lawful permanent resident and my green card has been neither revoked nor administratively or judicially determined to have been abandoned. I am filing a U.S. income tax return for the tax year as a resident alien reporting all of my worldwide income. I have not claimed benefits for the tax year under an income tax treaty as a nonresident alien."
Nonresident aliens. A nonresident alien is an individual who is not a citizen or resident of the United States. If you are a nonresident alien, the rules discussed in this publication do not apply to you. Instead, 85% of your benefits are taxed at a 30% rate, unless exempt (or subject to a lower rate) by treaty. You will receive a Form SSA-1042S or Form RRB-1042S showing the amount of your benefits. These forms will also show the tax rate and the amount of tax withheld from your benefits.
Under tax treaties with the following countries, residents of these countries are exempt from U.S. tax on their benefits.
• Canada.
• Egypt.
• Germany.
• Ireland.
• Israel.
• Italy.
• Japan.
• Romania.
• United Kingdom.
Under a treaty with India, benefits paid to individuals who are both residents and nationals of India are exempt from U.S. tax if the benefits are for services performed for the United States, its subdivisions, or local government authorities.
If you are a resident of Switzerland, your total benefit amount will be taxed at a 15% rate.
For more information on whether you are a nonresident alien, see Pub. 519, U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens.
Exemption from withholding. If your social security benefits are exempt from tax because you are a resident of one of the treaty countries listed, the SSA will not withhold U.S. tax from your benefits.
If your railroad retirement benefits are exempt from tax because you are a resident of one of the treaty countries listed, you can claim an exemption from withholding by filing Form RRB-1001 with the RRB. Contact the RRB to get this form.
Canadian or German social security benefits paid to U.S. residents. Under income tax treaties with Canada and Germany, social security benefits paid by those countries to U.S. residents are treated for U.S. income tax purposes as if they were paid under the social security legislation of the United States. If you receive social security benefits from Canada or Germany, include them on line 1 of Worksheet 1, shown later.
If part of your benefits are taxable, you must use Form 1040 or Form 1040EZ.
Reporting on Form 1040. Report your net benefits (the total amount from box 5 of all your Forms SSA-1099 and Forms RRB-1099) on line 20a and the taxable part on line 20b. If you are married filing separately and you lived apart from your spouse for all of 2015, also enter "D" to the right of the word "benefits" on line 20a.
Reporting on Form 1040A. Report your net benefits (the total amount from box 5 of all your Forms SSA-1099 and Forms RRB-1099) on line 14a and the taxable part on line 14b. If you are married filing separately and you lived apart from your spouse for all of 2015, also enter "D" to the right of the word "benefits" on line 14a.
Benefits not taxable. If you are filing Form 1040EZ, do not report any benefits on your tax return. If you are filing Form 1040A, report your net benefits (the total amount from box 5 of all your Forms SSA-1099 and Forms RRB-1099) on Form 1040, line 20a, or Form 1040A, line 14a. Enter -0- on Form 1040, line 20b, or Form 1040A, line 14b. If you are married filing separately and you lived apart from your spouse for all of 2015, also enter "D" to the right of the word "benefits" on Form 1040, line 20a, or Form 1040A, line 14a.
If part of your benefits are taxable, how much is taxable depends on the total amount of your benefits and other income. Generally, the higher that total amount, the greater the taxable part of your benefits.
Maximum taxable part. Generally, up to 50% of your benefits will be taxable. However, up to 85% of your benefits can be taxable if either of the following situations applies to you.
• The total of one-half of your benefits and all your other income is more than $34,000 ($44,000 if you are married filing jointly).
• You are married filing separately and lived with your spouse at any time during 2015.
Which worksheet to use.
A worksheet you can use to figure your taxable benefits is in the instructions for your 1040A. You can use either that worksheet or Worksheet 1 in this publication, unless any of the following situations applies to you.
1. You contributed to a traditional individual retirement arrangement (IRA) and you or your spouse is covered by a retirement plan at work. In this situation you must use the special worksheets in
Appendix Bof
Pub. 590-Ato figure both your IRA deduction and your taxable benefits.
2. Situation (1) does not apply and you take an exclusion for interest from qualified U.S. savings bonds (Form 8839), for foreign earned income or housing (Form 2555 or Form 2555-EZ), or for income earned in American Samoa (Form 4563) or Puerto Rico by bona fide residents. In this situation, you must use Worksheet 1 in this publication to figure your taxable benefits.
3. You received a lump-sum payment for an earlier year. In this situation, also complete Worksheet 2 or 3 and Worksheet 4 in this publication. See Lump-Sum Election, later.
Examples
A few examples you can use as a guide to figure the taxable part of your benefits follow.
Example 1. George White is single and files Form 1040 for 2015. In addition to receiving social security payments, he received a fully taxable pension of $18,600, wages from a part-time job of $9,400, and taxable interest income of $990, for a total of $28,990. He received a Form SSA-1099 in January 2016 that shows his net social security benefits of $5,980 in box 5.
To figure his taxable benefits, George completes Worksheet 1, shown below. On line 20a of his Form 1040, George enters his net benefits of $5,980. On line 20b, he enters his taxable benefits of $2,990.
Filled-in Worksheet 1. Figuring Your Taxable Benefits
Keep for Your Records
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Before you begin:
• If you are married filing separately and you lived apart from your
spouse for all of 2015, enter "D" to the right of the word
"benefits" on Form 1040A, line 14a.
• Do not use this worksheet if you repaid benefits in 2015 and your
total repayments (box 4 of Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099) were more
than your gross benefits for 2015 (box 3 of Forms SSA-1099 and
RRB-1099). None of your benefits are taxable for 2015. For more
information, see
Repayments More Than Gross Benefits.
• If you are filing Form 8815, Exclusion of Interest From Series EE
and I U.S. Savings Bonds Issued After 1989, do not include the
amount from line 8a of Form 1040A on line 3 of this
worksheet. Instead, include the amount from
Schedule B (Form 1040A or 1040), line 2.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.
Enter the total amount from box 5 of ALL
your Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099. Also
enter this amount on Form 1040, line 20a, or
Form 1040A, line 14a
1.
$5,980
2.
Enter one-half of line 1
2.
2,990
3.
Combine the amounts from:
Form 1040:
Lines 7, 8a, 9a, 10 through 14, 15b, 16b,
17 through 19, and 21
Form 1040A:
Lines 7, 8a, 9a, 10, 11b, 12b, and 13
3.
28,990
4.
Enter the amount, if any, from 1040A,
line 8b
4.
-0-
5.
Enter the total of any exclusions/adjustments for:
• Adoption benefits (Form 8839, line 28),
• Foreign earned income or housing (Form 2555, lines
45 and 50, or Form 2555-EZ, line 18), and
• Certain income of bona fide residents of American
Samoa (Form 4563, line 15) or Puerto Rico
5.
-0-
6.
Combine lines 2, 3, 4, and 5
6.
31,980
7.
Form 1040 filers:
Enter the amounts from Form 1040,
lines 23 through 32, and any write-in adjustments
you entered on the dotted line next to line 36.
Form 1040A filers:
Enter the amounts from Form 1040A,
lines 16 and 17
7.
-0-
8.
Is the amount on line 7 less than the amount on line 6?
No.
STOP None of your social security benefits are
taxable. Enter -0- on Form 1040, line 20b, or
Form 1040A, line 14b.
Yes.
Subtract line 7 from line 6
8.
31,980
9.
If you are:
• Married filing jointly, enter $32,000
• Single, head of household, qualifying widow(er), or
married filing separately and you
lived apart
from
your spouse for all of 2015, enter $25,000
9.
25,000
Note.
If you are married filing separately and you
lived with your spouse at any time in 2015, skip
lines 9 through 16; multiply line 8 by 85% (0.85)
and enter the result on line 17. Then go to line 18.
10.
Is the amount on line 9 less than the amount on line
8?
No.
STOP None of your benefits are taxable. Enter -0-
on Form 1040A,
line 14b. If you are married filing
separately and you
lived apart
from your
spouse for all of 2015, be sure you entered
"D" to the right of the word "benefits" on
Form 1040, line 20a, or on Form 1040A, line
14a.
Yes.
Subtract line 9 from line 8
10.
6,980
11.
Enter $12,000 if married filing jointly; $9,000 if
single, head of household, qualifying widow(er), or
married filing separately and you
lived apart
from
your spouse for all of 2015
11.
9,000
12.
Subtract line 11 from line 10. If zero or less,
enter -0-
12.
-0-
13.
Enter the
smaller
of line 10 or line 11
13.
6,980
14.
Enter one-half of line 13
14.
3,490
15.
Enter the
smaller
of line 2 or line 14
15.
2,990
16.
Multiply line 12 by 85% (0.85). If line 12 is zero,
enter -0-
16.
-0-
17.
Add lines 15 and 16
17.
2,990
18.
Multiply line 1 by 85% (0.85)
18.
5,083
19. Taxable benefits.
Enter the
smaller
of line 17 or
line 18. Also enter this amount on Form 1040, line
20b, or Form 1040A, line 14b
19. $2,990
======
----------------------------------------------------------------------
TIP:
If you received a lump-sum payment in 2015 that was for an
earlier year, also complete Worksheet 2 or 3 and Worksheet 4 to see if
you can report a lower taxable benefit.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Example 2.
Ray and Alice Hopkins file a joint return on Form 1040A for 2015. Ray is retired and received a fully taxable pension of $15,500. He also received social security benefits and his Form SSA-1099 for 2015 shows net benefits of $5,600 in box 5. Alice worked during the year and had wages of $14,000. She made a deductible payment to her IRA account of $1,000 and is not covered by a retirement plan at work. Ray and Alice have two savings accounts with a total of $250 in taxable interest income. They complete Worksheet 1, entering $29,750 ($15,500 + $14,000 + $250) on line 3. They find none of Ray's social security benefits are taxable. On Form 1040A, they enter $5,600 on line 14a and -0- on line 14b.
Filled-in Worksheet 1. Figuring Your Taxable Benefits
Keep for Your Records
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Before you begin:
• If you are married filing separately and you lived apart from your
spouse for all of 2015, enter "D" to the right of the word
"benefits" on Form 1040A, line 14a.
• Do not use this worksheet if you repaid benefits in 2015 and your
total repayments (box 4 of Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099) were more
than your gross benefits for 2015 (box 3 of Forms SSA-1099 and
RRB-1099). None of your benefits are taxable for 2015. For more
information, see
Repayments More Than Gross Benefits.
• If you are filing Form 8815, Exclusion of Interest From Series EE
and I U.S. Savings Bonds Issued After 1989, do not include the
amount from line 8a of Form 1040A on line 3 of this
worksheet. Instead, include the amount from
Schedule B (Form 1040A or 1040), line 2.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.
Enter the total amount from box 5 of ALL
your Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099. Also
enter this amount on Form 1040, line 20a,
or Form 1040A, line 14a
1.
$5,600
2.
Enter one-half of line 1
2.
2,800
3.
Combine the amounts from:
Form 1040:
Lines 7, 8a, 9a, 10 through 14, 15b, 16b,
17 through 19, and 21
Form 1040A:
Lines 7, 8a, 9a, 10, 11b, 12b, and 13
3.
29,750
4.
Enter the amount, if any, from 1040A,
line 8b
4.
-0-
5.
Enter the total of any exclusions/adjustments for:
• Adoption benefits (Form 8839, line 28),
• Foreign earned income or housing (Form 2555, lines
45 and 50, or Form 2555-EZ, line 18), and
• Certain income of bona fide residents of American
Samoa (Form 4563, line 15) or Puerto Rico
5.
-0-
6.
Combine lines 2, 3, 4, and 5
6.
32,550
7.
Form 1040 filers:
Enter the amounts from Form 1040,
lines 23 through 32, and any write-in adjustments
you entered on the dotted line next to line 36.
Form 1040A filers:
Enter the amounts from Form 1040A,
lines 16 and 17
7.
1,000
8.
Is the amount on line 7 less than the amount on line
6?
No.
STOP None of your social security benefits are
taxable. Enter -0- on Form 1040, line 20b, or
Form 1040A, line 14b.
Yes.
Subtract line 7 from line 6
8.
31,550
9.
If you are:
• Married filing jointly, enter $32,000
• Single, head of household, qualifying widow(er), or
married filing separately and you
lived apart
from
your spouse for all of 2015, enter $25,000
9.
32,000
Note.
If you are married filing separately and you
lived with your spouse at any time in 2015, skip
lines 9 through 16; multiply line 8 by 85% (0.85)
and enter the result on line 17. Then go to line 18.
10.
Is the amount on line 9 less than the amount on line
8?
No.
STOP None of your benefits are taxable. Enter -0-
on Form 1040A,
line 14b. If you are married filing
separately and you
lived apart
from your
spouse for all of 2015, be sure you entered
"D" to the right of the word "benefits" on
Form 1040, line 20a, or on Form 1040A, line
14a.
Yes.
Subtract line 9 from line 8
10.
______
11.
Enter $12,000 if married filing jointly; $9,000 if
single, head of household, qualifying widow(er), or
married filing separately and you
lived apart
from
your spouse for all of 2015
11.
______
12.
Subtract line 11 from line 10. If zero or less,
enter -0-
12.
______
13.
Enter the
smaller
of line 10 or line 11
13.
______
14.
Enter one-half of line 13
14.
______
15.
Enter the
smaller
of line 2 or line 14
15.
______
16.
Multiply line 12 by 85% (0.85). If line 12 is zero,
enter -0-
16.
______
17.
Add lines 15 and 16
17.
______
18.
Multiply line 1 by 85% (0.85)
18.
______
19. Taxable benefits.
Enter the
smaller
of line 17 or
line 18. Also enter this amount on Form 1040, line
20b, or Form 1040A, line 14b
19.
======
----------------------------------------------------------------------
TIP:
If you received a lump-sum payment in 2015 that was for an
earlier year, also complete Worksheet 2 or 3 and Worksheet 4 to see if
you can report a lower taxable benefit.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Example 3.
Joe and Betty Johnson file a joint return on Form 1040 for 2015. Joe is a retired railroad worker and in 2015 received the social security equivalent benefit (SSEB) portion of tier 1 railroad retirement benefits. Joe's Form RRB-1099 shows $10,000 in box 5. Betty is a retired government worker and received a fully taxable pension of $38,000. They had $2,300 in taxable interest income plus interest of $200 on a qualified U.S. savings bond. The savings bond interest qualified for the exclusion. They figure their taxable benefits by completing Worksheet 1 below. Because they have qualified U.S. savings bond interest, they follow the note at the beginning of the worksheet and use the amount from line 2 of their Schedule B (Form 1040A or 1040) on line 3 of the worksheet instead of the amount from line 8a of their Form 1040. On line 3 of the worksheet, they enter $40,500 ($38,000 + $2,500). More than 50% of Joe's net benefits are taxable because the income on line 8 of the worksheet ($45,500) is more than $44,000. (See
Maximum taxable partunder
How Much Is Taxable, earlier.) Joe and Betty enter $10,000 on Form 1040, line 20a, and $6,275 on Form 1040, line 20b.
Filled-in Worksheet 1. Figuring Your Taxable Benefits
Keep for Your Records
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Before you begin:
• If you are married filing separately and you lived apart from your
spouse for all of 2015, enter "D" to the right of the word
"benefits" on Form 1040A, line 14a.
• Do not use this worksheet if you repaid benefits in 2015 and your
total repayments (box 4 of Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099) were more
than your gross benefits for 2015 (box 3 of Forms SSA-1099 and
RRB-1099). None of your benefits are taxable for 2015. For more
information, see
Repayments More Than Gross Benefits.
• If you are filing Form 8815, Exclusion of Interest From Series EE
and I U.S. Savings Bonds Issued After 1989, do not include the
amount from line 8a of Form 1040A on line 3 of this
worksheet. Instead, include the amount from
Schedule B (Form 1040A or 1040), line 2.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.
Enter the total amount from box 5 of ALL
your Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099. Also
enter this amount on Form 1040, line 20a,
or Form 1040A, line 14a
1.
$10,000
2.
Enter one-half of line 1
2.
5,000
3.
Combine the amounts from:
Form 1040:
Lines 7, 8a, 9a, 10 through 14, 15b, 16b,
17 through 19, and 21
Form 1040A:
Lines 7, 8a, 9a, 10, 11b, 12b, and 13
3.
40,500
4.
Enter the amount, if any, from 1040A,
line 8b
4.
-0-
5.
Enter the total of any exclusions/adjustments for:
• Adoption benefits (Form 8839, line 28),
• Foreign earned income or housing (Form 2555, lines
45 and 50, or Form 2555-EZ, line 18), and
• Certain income of bona fide residents of American
Samoa (Form 4563, line 15) or Puerto Rico
5.
-0-
6.
Combine lines 2, 3, 4, and 5
6.
45,500
7.
Form 1040 filers:
Enter the amounts from Form 1040,
lines 23 through 32, and any write-in adjustments you
entered on the dotted line next to line 36.
Form 1040A filers:
Enter the amounts from Form 1040A,
lines 16 and 17
7.
-0-
8.
Is the amount on line 7 less than the amount on line
6?
No.
STOP None of your social security benefits are
taxable. Enter -0- on Form 1040, line 20b,
or Form 1040A, line 14b.
Yes.
Subtract line 7 from line 6
8.
45,500
9.
If you are:
• Married filing jointly, enter $32,000
• Single, head of household, qualifying widow(er), or
married filing separately and you
lived apart
from
your spouse for all of 2015, enter $25,000
9.
32,000
Note.
If you are married filing separately and you
lived with your spouse at any time in 2015, skip lines
9 through 16; multiply line 8 by 85% (0.85) and enter
the result on line 17. Then go to line 18.
10.
Is the amount on line 9 less than the amount on line
8?
No.
STOP None of your benefits are taxable. Enter -0-
on Form 1040A,
line 14b. If you are married filing
separately and you
lived apart
from your
spouse for all of 2015, be sure you entered
"D" to the right of the word "benefits" on
Form 1040, line 20a, or on Form 1040A,
line 14a.
Yes.
Subtract line 9 from line 8
10.
13,500
11.
Enter $12,000 if married filing jointly; $9,000 if
single, head of household, qualifying widow(er), or
married filing separately and you
lived apart
from
your spouse for all of 2015
11.
12,000
12.
Subtract line 11 from line 10. If zero or less, enter
-0-
12.
1,500
13.
Enter the
smaller
of line 10 or line 11
13.
12,000
14.
Enter one-half of line 13
14.
6,000
15.
Enter the
smaller
of line 2 or line 14
15.
5,000
16.
Multiply line 12 by 85% (0.85). If line 12 is zero,
enter -0-
16.
1,275
17.
Add lines 15 and 16
17.
6,275
18.
Multiply line 1 by 85% (0.85)
18.
8,500
19. Taxable benefits.
Enter the
smaller
of line 17 or
line 18. Also enter this amount on Form 1040, line
20b, or Form 1040A, line 14b
19. $6,275
======
----------------------------------------------------------------------
TIP:
If you received a lump-sum payment in 2015 that was for an
earlier year, also complete Worksheet 2 or 3 and Worksheet 4 to see if
you can report a lower taxable benefit.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Example 4.
Bill and Eileen Jones are married and live together, but file separate Form 1040 returns for 2015. Bill earned $8,000 during 2015. The only other income he had for the year was $4,000 net social security benefits (box 5 of his Form SSA-1099). Bill figures his taxable benefits by completing Worksheet 1 below. He must include 85% of his social security benefits in his taxable income because he is married filing separately and lived with his spouse during 2015. See
How Much Is Taxable, earlier. Bill enters $4,000 on his Form 1040, line 20a, and $3,400 on Form 1040, line 20b.
Filled-in Worksheet 1. Figuring Your Taxable Benefits
Keep for Your Records
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Before you begin:
• If you are married filing separately and you lived apart from your
spouse for all of 2015, enter "D" to the right of the word
"benefits" on Form 1040A, line 14a.
• Do not use this worksheet if you repaid benefits in 2015 and your
total repayments (box 4 of Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099) were more
than your gross benefits for 2015 (box 3 of Forms SSA-1099 and
RRB-1099). None of your benefits are taxable for 2015. For more
information, see
Repayments More Than Gross Benefits.
• If you are filing Form 8815, Exclusion of Interest From Series EE
and I U.S. Savings Bonds Issued After 1989, do not include the
amount from line 8a of Form 1040A on line 3 of this
worksheet. Instead, include the amount from
Schedule B (Form 1040A or 1040), line 2.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.
Enter the total amount from box 5 of ALL
your Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099. Also
enter this amount on Form 1040, line 20a,
or Form 1040A, line 14a
1.
$4,000
2.
Enter one-half of line 1
2.
2,000
3.
Combine the amounts from:
Form 1040:
Lines 7, 8a, 9a, 10 through 14, 15b, 16b,
17 through 19, and 21
Form 1040A:
Lines 7, 8a, 9a, 10, 11b, 12b, and 13
3.
8,000
4.
Enter the amount, if any, from 1040A,
line 8b
4.
-0-
5.
Enter the total of any exclusions/adjustments for:
• Adoption benefits (Form 8839, line 28),
• Foreign earned income or housing (Form 2555, lines
45 and 50, or Form 2555-EZ, line 18), and
• Certain income of bona fide residents of American
Samoa (Form 4563, line 15) or Puerto Rico
5.
-0-
6.
Combine lines 2, 3, 4, and 5
6.
10,000
7.
Form 1040 filers:
Enter the amounts from Form 1040,
lines 23 through 32, and any write-in adjustments you
entered on the dotted line next to line 36.
Form 1040A filers:
Enter the amounts from Form 1040A,
lines 16 and 17
7.
-0-
8.
Is the amount on line 7 less than the amount on line
6?
No.
STOP None of your social security benefits are
taxable. Enter -0- on Form 1040, line 20b,
or Form 1040A, line 14b.
Yes.
Subtract line 7 from line 6
8.
10,000
9.
If you are:
• Married filing jointly, enter $32,000
• Single, head of household, qualifying widow(er), or
married filing separately and you
lived apart
from
your spouse for all of 2015, enter $25,000
9.
______
Note.
If you are married filing separately and you
lived with your spouse at any time in 2015, skip lines
9 through 16; multiply line 8 by 85% (0.85) and enter
the result on line 17. Then go to line 18.
10.
Is the amount on line 9 less than the amount on line
8?
No.
STOP None of your benefits are taxable. Enter
-0- on Form 1040A,
line 14b. If you are married filing
separately and you
lived apart
from your
spouse for all of 2015, be sure you entered
"D" to the right of the word "benefits" on
Form 1040, line 20a, or on Form 1040A, line
14a.
Yes.
Subtract line 9 from line 8
10.
______
11.
Enter $12,000 if married filing jointly; $9,000 if
single, head of household, qualifying widow(er), or
married filing separately and you
lived apart
from
your spouse for all of 2015
11.
______
12.
Subtract line 11 from line 10. If zero or less, enter
-0-
12.
______
13.
Enter the
smaller
of line 10 or line 11
13.
______
14.
Enter one-half of line 13
14.
______
15.
Enter the
smaller
of line 2 or line 14
15.
______
16.
Multiply line 12 by 85% (0.85). If line 12 is zero,
enter -0-
16.
______
17.
Add lines 15 and 16
17.
8,500
18.
Multiply line 1 by 85% (0.85)
18.
3,400
19. Taxable benefits.
Enter the
smaller
of line 17 or
line 18. Also enter this amount on Form 1040, line
20b, or Form 1040A, line 14b
19. $3,400
======
----------------------------------------------------------------------
TIP:
If you received a lump-sum payment in 2015 that was for an
earlier year, also complete Worksheet 2 or 3 and Worksheet 4 to see if
you can report a lower taxable benefit.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Lump-Sum Election
You must include the taxable part of a lump-sum (retroactive) payment of benefits received in 2015 in your 2015 income, even if the payment includes benefits for an earlier year.
TIP: This type of lump-sum benefit payment should not be confused with the lump-sum death benefit that both the SSA and RRB pay to many of their beneficiaries. No part of the lump-sum death benefit is subject to tax.
Generally, you use your 2015 income to figure the taxable part of the total benefits received in 2015. However, you may be able to figure the taxable part of a lump-sum payment for an earlier year separately, using your income for the earlier year. You can elect this method if it lowers your taxable benefits.
Under the lump-sum election method, you refigure the taxable part of all your benefits for the earlier year (including the lump-sum payment) using that year's income. Then you subtract any taxable benefits for that year that you previously reported. The remainder is the taxable part of the lump-sum payment. Add it to the taxable part of your benefits for 2015 (figured without the lump-sum payment for the earlier year).
CAUTION: Because the earlier year's taxable benefits are included in your 2015 income, no adjustment is made to the earlier year's return. Do not file an amended return for the earlier year.
Will the lump-sum election method lower your taxable benefits? To find out, take the following steps.
1. Complete Worksheet 1 in this publication.
2. Complete Worksheet 2 and Worksheet 3 as appropriate. Use Worksheet 2 if your lump-sum payment was for a year after 1993. Use Worksheet 3 if it was for 1993 or an earlier year. Complete a separate Worksheet 2 or Worksheet 3 for each earlier year for which you received the lump-sum payment.
3. Complete Worksheet 4.
4. Compare the taxable benefits on line 19 of Worksheet 1 with the taxable benefits on line 21 of Worksheet 4.
If the taxable benefits on Worksheet 4 are lower than the taxable benefits on Worksheet 1, you can elect to report the lower amount on your return.
Making the election. If you elect to report your taxable benefits under the lump-sum election method, follow the instructions at the bottom of Worksheet 4. Do not attach the completed worksheets to your return. Keep them with your records.
CAUTION: Once you elect this method of figuring the taxable part of a lump-sum payment, you can revoke your election only with the consent of the IRS.
Lump-sum payment reported on Form SSA-1099 or RRB-1099. If you received a lump-sum payment in 2015 that includes benefits for one or more earlier years after 1983, it will be included in box 3 of either Form SSA-1099 or Form RRB-1099. That part of any lump-sum payment for years before 1984 is not taxed and will not be shown on the form. The form will also show the year (or years) the payment is for. However, Form RRB-1099 will not show a breakdown by year (or years) of any lump-sum payment for years before 2013. You must contact the RRB for a breakdown by year for any amount shown in box 9.
Example
Jane Jackson is single. In 2014 she applied for social security disability benefits but was told she was ineligible. She appealed the decision and won. In 2015, she received a lump-sum payment of $6,000, of which $2,000 was for 2014 and $4,000 was for 2015. Jane also received $5,000 in social security benefits in 2015, so her total benefits in 2015 were $11,000. Jane's other income for 2014 and 2015 is as follows.
Income 2014 2015
Wages $20,000 $3,500
Interest income 2,000 2,500
Dividend income 1,000 1,500
Fully taxable pension 18,000
------- -------
Total $23,000 $25,500
======= =======
To see if the lump-sum election method results in lower taxable benefits, she completes Worksheets 1, 2, and 4 from this publication. She does not need to complete Worksheet 3 because her lump-sum payment was for years after 1993.
Jane completes Worksheet 1 to find the amount of her taxable benefits for 2015 under the regular method. She completes Worksheet 2 to find the taxable part of the lump-sum payment for 2014 under the lump-sum election method. She completes Worksheet 4 to decide if the lump-sum election method will lower her taxable benefits.
After completing the worksheets, Jane compares the amounts from Worksheet 4, line 21, and Worksheet 1, line 19. Because the amount on Worksheet 4 is smaller, she chooses to use the lump-sum election method. To do this, she prints "LSE" to the left of Form 1040, line 20a. She then enters $11,000 on Form 1040, line 20a, and her taxable benefits of $2,500 on line 20b.
Jane's filled-in worksheets (1, 2, and 4) follow.
Jane Jackson's Filled-in Worksheet 1. Figuring Your Taxable Benefits
Keep for Your Records
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Before you begin:
• If you are married filing separately and you lived apart from your
spouse for all of 2015, enter "D" to the right of the word
"benefits" on Form 1040A, line 14a.
• Do not use this worksheet if you repaid benefits in 2015 and your
total repayments (box 4 of Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099) were more
than your gross benefits for 2015 (box 3 of Forms SSA-1099 and
RRB-1099). None of your benefits are taxable for 2015. For more
information, see
Repayments More Than Gross Benefits.
• If you are filing Form 8815, Exclusion of Interest From Series EE
and I U.S. Savings Bonds Issued After 1989, do not include the
amount from line 8a of Form 1040A on line 3 of this
worksheet. Instead, include the amount from
Schedule B (Form 1040A or 1040), line 2.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.
Enter the total amount from box 5 of ALL
your Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099. Also
enter this amount on Form 1040, line 20a,
or Form 1040A, line 14a
1.
$11,000
2.
Enter one-half of line 1
2.
5,500
3.
Combine the amounts from:
Form 1040:
Lines 7, 8a, 9a, 10 through 14, 15b, 16b,
17 through 19, and 21
Form 1040A:
Lines 7, 8a, 9a, 10, 11b, 12b, and 13
3.
25,500
4.
Enter the amount, if any, from 1040A,
line 8b
4.
-0-
5.
Enter the total of any exclusions/adjustments for:
• Adoption benefits (Form 8839, line 28),
• Foreign earned income or housing (Form 2555, lines
45 and 50, or Form 2555-EZ, line 18), and
• Certain income of bona fide residents of American
Samoa (Form 4563, line 15) or Puerto Rico
5.
-0-
6.
Combine lines 2, 3, 4, and 5
6.
31,000
7.
Form 1040 filers:
Enter the amounts from Form 1040,
lines 23 through 32, and any write-in adjustments you
entered on the dotted line next to line 36.
Form 1040A filers:
Enter the amounts from Form 1040A,
lines 16 and 17
7.
-0-
8.
Is the amount on line 7 less than the amount on line
6?
No.
STOP None of your social security benefits are
taxable. Enter -0- on Form 1040, line 20b, or
Form 1040A, line 14b.
Yes.
Subtract line 7 from line 6
8.
31,000
9.
If you are:
• Married filing jointly, enter $32,000
• Single, head of household, qualifying widow(er), or
married filing separately and you
lived apart
from
your spouse for all of 2015, enter $25,000
9.
25,000
Note.
If you are married filing separately and you
lived with your spouse at any time in 2015, skip
lines 9 through 16; multiply line 8 by 85% (0.85) and
enter the result on line 17. Then go to line 18.
10.
Is the amount on line 9 less than the amount on line
8?
No.
STOP None of your benefits are taxable. Enter
-0- on Form 1040A,
line 14b. If you are married filing
separately and you
lived apart
from your
spouse for all of 2015, be sure you entered
"D" to the right of the word "benefits" on
Form 1040, line 20a, or on Form 1040A, line
14a.
Yes.
Subtract line 9 from line 8
10.
6,000
11.
Enter $12,000 if married filing jointly; $9,000 if
single, head of household, qualifying widow(er), or
married filing separately and you
lived apart
from
your spouse for all of 2015
11.
9,000
12.
Subtract line 11 from line 10. If zero or less, enter
-0-
12.
-0-
13.
Enter the
smaller
of line 10 or line 11
13.
6,000
14.
Enter one-half of line 13
14.
3,000
15.
Enter the
smaller
of line 2 or line 14
15.
3,000
16.
Multiply line 12 by 85% (0.85). If line 12 is zero,
enter -0-
16.
-0-
17.
Add lines 15 and 16
17.
3,000
18.
Multiply line 1 by 85% (0.85)
18.
9,350
19. Taxable benefits.
Enter the
smaller
of line 17 or
line 18. Also enter this amount on Form 1040, line
20b, or Form 1040A, line 14b
19. $3,000
======
----------------------------------------------------------------------
TIP:
If you received a lump-sum payment in 2015 that was for an
earlier year, also complete Worksheet 2 or 3 and Worksheet 4 to see if
you can report a lower taxable benefit.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Jane Jackson's Filled-in Worksheet 2. Figure Your Additional Taxable Benefits (From a Lump-Sum Payment for a Year After 1993)
Keep for Your Records
Enter earlier year
2014
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.
Enter the total amount from box 5 of ALL
your Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099 for the
earlier year, plus the lump-sum payment for
the earlier year received after that year
1.
$2,000
Note.
If line 1 is zero or less, skip lines
2 through 20 and enter -0- on line 21.
Otherwise, go on to line 2.
2.
Enter one-half of line 1
2.
1,000
3.
Enter your adjusted gross income for the earlier year
3.
23,000
4.
Enter the total of any exclusions/adjustments you
claimed in the earlier year for:
• Adoption benefits (Form 8839)
• Qualified U.S. savings bond interest (Form 8815)
• Student loan interest (Form 1040, page 1, or
Form 1040A, page 1)
• Tuition and fees (Form 1040, page 1, or
Form 1040A, page 1)
• Domestic production activities (for 2005 through
2014) (Form 1040, page 1)
• Foreign earned income or housing (Form 2555 or
Form 2555-EZ)
• Certain income of bona fide residents of American
Samoa (Form 4563) or Puerto Rico
4.
-0-
5.
Enter any tax-exempt interest received in the earlier
year
5.
-0-
6.
Add lines 2 through 5
6.
24,000
7.
Enter your taxable benefits for the earlier year that
you previously reported
7.
-0-
8.
Subtract line 7 from line 6
8.
24,000
9.
If, for the earlier year, you were:
• Married filing jointly, enter $32,000
• Single, head of household, qualifying widow(er),
married filing separately and you lived apart
from your spouse for all of the earlier year,
enter $25,000
9.
25,000
Note.
If you were married filing separately and you
lived with your spouse at any time during the earlier
year, skip lines 9 through 16; multiply line 8 by 85%
(0.85) and enter the result on line 17. Then go to line
18.
10.
Is the amount on line 8 more than the amount on line
9?
No.
Skip lines 10 through 20 and enter -0- on line
21.
Yes.
Subtract line 9 from line 8
10.
______
11.
Enter $12,000 if married filing jointly for the
earlier year; $9,000 if single, head of household,
qualifying widow(er), or married filing separately
and you
lived apart
from your spouse for all of the
earlier year
11.
______
12.
Subtract line 11 from line 10. If zero or less,
enter -0-
12.
______
13.
Enter the
smaller
of line 10 or line 11
13.
______
14.
Enter one-half of line 13
14.
______
15.
Enter the
smaller
of line 2 or line 14
15.
______
16.
Multiply line 12 by 85% (0.85). If line 12 is zero,
enter -0-
16.
______
17.
Add lines 15 and 16
17.
______
18.
Multiply line 1 by 85% (0.85)
18.
______
19. Refigured taxable benefits.
Enter the
smaller
of line
17 or line 18
19.
______
20.
Enter your taxable benefits for the earlier year (or
as refigured due to a previous lump-sum payment for
the year)
20.
______
21. Additional taxable benefits.
Subtract line 20 from
line 19. Also enter this amount on Worksheet 4,
line 20
21.
-0-
----------------------------------------------------------------------
CAUTION:
Do not file an amended return for this earlier year. Complete
a separate Worksheet 2 or Worksheet 3 for each earlier year for which
you received a lump-sum payment in 2015.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Jane Jackson's Filled-in Worksheet 4. Figure Your Taxable Benefits Under the Lump-Sum Election Method (Use With Worksheet 2 or 3)
Keep for Your Records
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Complete Worksheet 1 and Worksheets 2 and 3 as appropriate before
completing this worksheet.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.
Enter the total amount from box 5 of ALL
your Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099 for 2015,
minus the lump-sum payment for years before
2015
1.
$9,000
Note.
If line 1 is zero or less, skip lines
2 through 18, enter -0- on line 19 and go
to line 20. Otherwise, go on to line 2.
2.
Enter one-half of line 1
2.
4,500
3.
Enter the amount from Worksheet 1, line 3
3.
25,500
4.
Enter the amount from Worksheet 1, line 4
4.
-0-
5.
Enter the amount from Worksheet 1, line 5
5.
-0-
6.
Combine lines 2, 3, 4, and 5
6.
30,000
7.
Enter the amount from Worksheet 1, line 7
7.
-0-
8.
Subtract line 7 from line 6
8.
30,000
9.
Enter the amount from Worksheet 1, line 9. But if you
are married filing separately and lived with your
spouse at any time during 2015, skip lines 9 through
16; multiply line 8 by 85% (0.85) and enter the result
on line 17. Then, go to line 18
9.
25,000
10.
Is the amount on line 8 more than the amount on line
9?
No.
Skip lines 10 through 18, enter -0- on line 19,
and go to line 20.
Yes.
Subtract line 9 from line 8
10.
5,000
11.
Enter the amount from Worksheet 1, line 11
11.
9,000
12.
Subtract line 11 from line 10. If zero or less, enter
-0-
12.
-0-
13.
Enter the
smaller
of line 10 or line 11
13.
5,000
14.
Enter one-half of line 13
14.
2,500
15.
Enter the
smaller
of line 2 or line 14
15.
2,500
16.
Multiply line 12 by 85% (0.85). If line 12 is zero,
enter -0-
16.
-0-
17.
Add lines 15 and 16
17.
2,500
18.
Multiply line 1 by 85% (0.85)
18.
7,650
19.
Enter the
smaller
of line 17 or line 18
19.
2,500
20.
Enter the total of the amounts from Worksheet 2, line
21, and Worksheet 3, line 14, for all earlier years
for which the lump-sum payment was received
20.
-0-
21. Taxable benefits under lump-sum election method.
Add
lines 19 and 20
21.
$2,500
Next.
Is line 21 above smaller than Worksheet 1, line 19?
No.
Do not use this method to figure your taxable benefits. Follow
the instructions on Worksheet 1 to report your benefits.
Yes.
You can elect to report your taxable benefits under this
method.
To elect this method:
1. Enter "LSE" to the left of Form 1040, line 20a, or
Form 1040A, line 14a.
2. If line 21 above is zero, follow the instructions in line
10 for "No" on Worksheet 1. Otherwise:
a. Enter the amount from Worksheet 1, line 1, on
Form 1040A, line 14a.
b. Enter the amount from line 21 above on Form 1040, line
20b, or on Form 1040A, line 14b.
c. If you are married filing separately and you
lived
apart
from your spouse for all of 2015, enter "D"
to the right of the word "benefits" on Form 1040, line
20a, or Form 1040A, line 14a.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Deductions Related to Your Benefits
You may be entitled to deduct certain amounts related to the benefits you receive.
Disability payments. You may have received disability payments from your employer or an insurance company that you included as income on your tax return in an earlier year. If you received a lump-sum payment from SSA or RRB, and you had to repay the employer or insurance company for the disability payments, you can take an itemized deduction for the part of the payments you included in gross income in the earlier year. If the amount you repay is more than $3,000, you may be able to claim a tax credit instead. Claim the deduction or credit in the same way explained under Repayment of benefits received in an earlier year in the section Repayments More Than Gross Benefits, later.
Legal expenses. You can usually deduct legal expenses that you pay or incur to produce or collect taxable income or in connection with the determination, collection, or refund of any tax.
Legal expenses for collecting the taxable part of your benefits are deductible as a miscellaneous itemized deduction on Schedule A (Form 1040), line 23.
Repayments More Than Gross Benefits
In some situations, your Form SSA-1099 or Form RRB-1099 will show that the total benefits you repaid (box 4) are more than the gross benefits (box 3) you received. If this occurred, your net benefits in box 5 will be a negative figure (a figure in parentheses) and none of your benefits will be taxable. Do not use Worksheet 1 in this case. If you receive more than one form, a negative figure in box 5 of one form is used to offset a positive figure in box 5 of another form for that same year.
If you have any questions about this negative figure, contact your local SSA office or your local RRB field office.
Joint return. If you and your spouse file a joint return, and your Form SSA-1099 or RRB-1099 has a negative figure in box 5, but your spouse's does not, subtract the amount in box 5 of your form from the amount in box 5 of your spouse's form. You do this to get your net benefits when figuring if your combined benefits are taxable.
Example. John and Mary file a joint return for 2015. John received Form SSA-1099 showing $3,000 in box 5. Mary also received Form SSA-1099 and the amount in box 5 was ($500). John and Mary will use $2,500 ($3,000 minus $500) as the amount of their net benefits when figuring if any of their combined benefits are taxable.
Repayment of benefits received in an earlier year. If the total amount shown in box 5 of all of your Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099 is a negative figure, you can take an itemized deduction for the part of this negative figure that represents benefits you included in gross income in an earlier year.
Deduction $3,000 or less. If this deduction is $3,000 or less, it is subject to the 2%-of-adjusted-gross-income limit that applies to certain miscellaneous itemized deductions. Claim it on Schedule A (Form 1040), line 23.
Deduction more than $3,000. If this deduction is more than $3,000, you should figure your tax two ways:
1. Figure your tax for 2015 with the itemized deduction included on Schedule A, line 28.
2. Figure your tax for 2015 in the following steps:
a. Figure the tax without the itemized deduction included on Schedule A, line 28.
b. For each year after 1983 for which part of the negative figure represents a repayment of benefits, refigure your taxable benefits as if your total benefits for the year were reduced by that part of the negative figure. Then refigure the tax for that year.
c. Subtract the total of the refigured tax amounts in (b) from the total of your actual tax amounts.
d. Subtract the result in (c) from the result in (a).
Compare the tax figured in methods (1) and (2). Your tax for 2015 is the smaller of the two amounts. If method (1) results in less tax, take the itemized deduction on Schedule A (Form 1040), line 28. If method (2) results in less tax, claim a credit for the amount from step 2(c) above on Form 1040, line 73. Check box d and enter "I.R.C. 1341" in the space next to that box. If both methods produce the same tax, deduct the repayment on Schedule A (Form 1040), line 28.
Blank Worksheets 1 through 4 are provided in this section.
1. Worksheet 1, Figuring Your Taxable Benefits.
2. Worksheet 2, Figure Your Additional Taxable Benefits (From a Lump-Sum Payment for a Year After 1993).
3. Worksheet 3, Figure Your Additional Taxable Benefits (From a Lump-Sum Payment for a Year Before 1994).
4. Worksheet 4, Figure Your Taxable Benefits Under the Lump-Sum Election Method (Use With Worksheet 2 or 3).
Worksheet 1. Figuring Your Taxable Benefits
Keep for Your Records
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Before you begin:
• If you are married filing separately and you lived apart from your
spouse for all of 2015, enter "D" to the right of the word
"benefits" on Form 1040A, line 14a.
• Do not use this worksheet if you repaid benefits in 2015 and your
total repayments (box 4 of Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099) were more
than your gross benefits for 2015 (box 3 of Forms SSA-1099 and
RRB-1099). None of your benefits are taxable for 2015. For more
information, see
Repayments More Than Gross Benefits.
• If you are filing Form 8815, Exclusion of Interest From Series EE
and I U.S. Savings Bonds Issued After 1989, do not include the
amount from line 8a of Form 1040A on line 3 of this
worksheet. Instead, include the amount from
Schedule B (Form 1040A or 1040), line 2.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.
Enter the total amount from box 5 of ALL
your Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099. Also
enter this amount on Form 1040, line 20a,
or Form 1040A, line 14a
1.
______
2.
Enter one-half of line 1
2.
______
3.
Combine the amounts from:
Form 1040:
Lines 7, 8a, 9a, 10 through 14, 15b, 16b,
17 through 19, and 21
Form 1040A:
Lines 7, 8a, 9a, 10, 11b, 12b, and 13
3.
______
4.
Enter the amount, if any, from 1040A,
line 8b
4.
______
5.
Enter the total of any exclusions/adjustments for:
• Adoption benefits (Form 8839, line 28),
• Foreign earned income or housing (Form 2555, lines
45 and 50, or Form 2555-EZ, line 18), and
• Certain income of bona fide residents of American
Samoa (Form 4563, line 15) or Puerto Rico
5.
______
6.
Combine lines 2, 3, 4, and 5
6.
______
7.
Form 1040 filers:
Enter the amounts from Form 1040,
lines 23 through 32, and any write-in adjustments you
entered on the dotted line next to line 36.
Form 1040A filers:
Enter the amounts from Form 1040A,
lines 16 and 17
7.
______
8.
Is the amount on line 7 less than the amount on line
6?
No.
STOP None of your social security benefits are
taxable. Enter -0- on Form 1040, line
20b, or Form 1040A, line 14b.
Yes.
Subtract line 7 from line 6
8.
______
9.
If you are:
• Married filing jointly, enter $32,000
• Single, head of household, qualifying widow(er), or
married filing separately and you
lived apart
from
your spouse for all of 2015, enter $25,000
9.
______
Note.
If you are married filing separately and you
lived with your spouse at any time in 2015, skip
lines 9 through 16; multiply line 8 by 85% (0.85)
and enter the result on line 17. Then go to line 18.
10.
Is the amount on line 9 less than the amount on line
8?
No.
STOP None of your benefits are taxable. Enter
-0- on Form 1040, line 20b, or on
Form 1040A, line 14b. If you are married
filing separately and you
lived apart
from
your spouse for all of 2015, be sure you
entered "D" to the right of the word
"benefits" on Form 1040, line 20a,
or on Form 1040A, line 14a.
Yes.
Subtract line 9 from line 8
10.
______
11.
Enter $12,000 if married filing jointly; $9,000 if
single, head of household, qualifying widow(er), or
married filing separately and you
lived apart
from
your spouse for all of 2015
11.
______
12.
Subtract line 11 from line 10. If zero or less, enter
-0-
12.
______
13.
Enter the
smaller
of line 10 or line 11
13.
______
14.
Enter one-half of line 13
14.
______
15.
Enter the
smaller
of line 2 or line 14
15.
______
16.
Multiply line 12 by 85% (0.85). If line 12 is zero,
enter -0-
16.
______
17.
Add lines 15 and 16
17.
______
18.
Multiply line 1 by 85% (0.85)
18.
______
19. Taxable benefits.
Enter the
smaller
of line 17 or line
18. Also enter this amount on Form 1040, line 20b, or
Form 1040A, line 14b
19.
======
----------------------------------------------------------------------
TIP:
If you received a lump-sum payment in 2015 that was for an
earlier year, also complete Worksheet 2 or 3 and Worksheet 4 to see if
you can report a lower taxable benefit.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Worksheet 2. Figure Your Additional Taxable Benefits (From a Lump-Sum Payment for a Year After 1993)
Keep for Your Records
Enter earlier year ___
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.
Enter the total amount from box 5 of ALL
your Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099 for the
earlier year, plus the lump-sum payment
for the earlier year received after that
year
1.
______
Note.
If line 1 is zero or less, skip
lines 2 through 20 and enter -0- on
line 21. Otherwise, go on to line 2.
2.
Enter one-half of line 1
2.
______
3.
Enter your adjusted gross income for the earlier year
3.
______
4.
Enter the total of any exclusions/adjustments you
claimed in the earlier year for:
• Adoption benefits (Form 8839)
• Qualified U.S. savings bond interest (Form 8815)
• Student loan interest (Form 1040, page 1, or
Form 1040A, page 1)
• Tuition and fees (Form 1040A,
page 1)
• Domestic production activities (for 2005 through
2014) (Form 1040, page 1)
• Foreign earned income or housing
(Form 2555-EZ)
• Certain income of bona fide residents of American
Samoa (Form 4563) or Puerto Rico
4.
______
5.
Enter any tax-exempt interest received in the earlier
year
5.
______
6.
Add lines 2 through 5
6.
______
7.
Enter your taxable benefits for the earlier year
that you previously reported
7.
______
8.
Subtract line 7 from line 6
8.
______
9.
If, for the earlier year, you were:
• Married filing jointly, enter $32,000
• Single, head of household, qualifying widow(er),
married filing separately and you lived apart from
your spouse for all of the earlier year, enter
$25,000
9.
______
Note.
If you were married filing separately and you
lived with your spouse at any time during the earlier
year, skip lines 9 through 16; multiply line 8 by 85%
(0.85) and enter the result on line 17. Then go to
line 18.
10.
Is the amount on line 8 more than the amount on line 9?
No.
Skip lines 10 through 20 and enter -0- on line 21.
Yes.
Subtract line 9 from line 8
10.
______
11.
Enter $12,000 if married filing jointly for the
earlier year; $9,000 if single, head of household,
qualifying widow(er), or married filing separately
and you
lived apart
from your spouse for all of the
earlier year
11.
______
12.
Subtract line 11 from line 10. If zero or less, enter
-0-
12.
______
13.
Enter the
smaller
of line 10 or line 11
13.
______
14.
Enter one-half of line 13
14.
______
15.
Enter the
smaller
of line 2 or line 14
15.
______
16.
Multiply line 12 by 85% (0.85). If line 12 is zero,
enter -0-
16.
______
17.
Add lines 15 and 16
17.
______
18.
Multiply line 1 by 85% (0.85)
18.
______
19. Refigured taxable benefits.
Enter the
smaller
of line
17 or line 18
19.
______
20.
Enter your taxable benefits for the earlier year (or
as refigured due to a previous lump-sum payment for
the year)
20.
______
21. Additional taxable benefits.
Subtract line 20 from
line 19. Also enter this amount on Worksheet 4,
line 20
21.
______
----------------------------------------------------------------------
CAUTION:
Do not file an amended return for this earlier year. Complete
a separate Worksheet 2 or Worksheet 3 for each earlier year for which
you received a lump-sum payment in 2015.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Worksheet 3. Figure Your Additional Taxable Benefits (From a Lump-Sum Payment for a Year Before 1994)
Keep for Your Records
Enter earlier year --
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.
Enter the total amount from box 5 of ALL
your Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099 for the
earlier year, plus the lump-sum payment
for the earlier year received after that
year
1.
______
Note.
If line 1 is zero or less, skip
lines 2 through 13 and enter -0- on line
14. Otherwise, go on to line 2.
2.
Enter one-half of line 1
2.
______
3.
Enter your adjusted gross income for the earlier year
3.
______
4.
Enter the total of any exclusions/adjustments you
claimed in the earlier year for:
• Qualified U.S. savings bond interest (Form 8815)
• Foreign earned income or housing (Form 2555 or
Form 2555-EZ)
• Certain income of bona fide residents of American
Samoa (Form 4563) or Puerto Rico
4.
______
5.
Enter any tax-exempt interest received in the earlier
year
5.
______
6.
Add lines 2 through 5
6.
______
7.
Enter your taxable benefits for the earlier year
that you previously reported
7.
______
8.
Subtract line 7 from line 6
8.
______
9.
Enter $25,000 ($32,000 if married filing jointly for
the earlier year; -0- if married filing separately
for the earlier year and you lived with your spouse
at any time during the earlier year)
9.
______
10.
Is the amount on line 8 more than the amount on line 9?
No.
Skip lines 10 through 13 and enter -0- on line
14.
Yes.
Subtract line 9 from line 8.
10.
______
11.
Enter one-half of line 10
11.
______
12. Refigured taxable benefits.
Enter the
smaller
of line
2 or line 11
12.
______
13.
Enter your taxable benefits for the earlier year (or as
refigured due to a previous lump-sum payment for
the year)
13.
______
14. Additional taxable benefits.
Subtract line 13 from
line 12. Also enter this amount on Worksheet 4,
line 20
14.
______
----------------------------------------------------------------------
CAUTION:
Do not file an amended return for this earlier year. Complete
a separate Worksheet 2 or Worksheet 3 for each earlier year for which
you received a lump-sum payment in 2015.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Worksheet 4. Figure Your Taxable Benefits Under the Lump-Sum Election Method (Use With Worksheet 2 or 3)
Keep for Your Records
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Complete Worksheet 1 and Worksheets 2 and 3 as appropriate before
completing this worksheet.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.
Enter the total amount from box 5 of ALL
your Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099 for 2015,
minus the lump-sum payment for years before
2015
1.
______
Note.
If line 1 is zero or less, skip lines
2 through 18, enter -0- on line 19 and go to
line 20.
Otherwise, go on to line 2.
2.
Enter one-half of line 1
2.
______
3.
Enter the amount from Worksheet 1, line 3
3.
______
4.
Enter the amount from Worksheet 1, line 4
4.
______
5.
Enter the amount from Worksheet 1, line 5
5.
______
6.
Combine lines 2, 3, 4, and 5
6.
______
7.
Enter the amount from Worksheet 1, line 7
7.
______
8.
Subtract line 7 from line 6
8.
______
9.
Enter the amount from Worksheet 1, line 9. But if you
are married filing separately and lived with your
spouse at any time during 2015, skip lines 9 through
16; multiply line 8 by 85% (0.85) and enter the result
on line 17. Then, go to line 18
9.
______
10.
Is the amount on line 8 more than the amount on line
9?
No.
Skip lines 10 through 18, enter -0- on line 19,
and go to line 20.
Yes.
Subtract line 9 from line 8
10.
______
11.
Enter the amount from Worksheet 1, line 11
11.
______
12.
Subtract line 11 from line 10. If zero or less, enter
-0-
12.
______
13.
Enter the
smaller
of line 10 or line 11
13.
______
14.
Enter one-half of line 13
14.
______
15.
Enter the
smaller
of line 2 or line 14
15.
______
16.
Multiply line 12 by 85% (0.85). If line 12 is zero,
enter -0-
16.
______
17.
Add lines 15 and 16
17.
______
18.
Multiply line 1 by 85% (0.85)
18.
______
19.
Enter the
smaller
of line 17 or line 18
19.
______
20.
Enter the total of the amounts from Worksheet 2, line
21, and Worksheet 3, line 14, for all earlier years
for which the lump-sum payment was received
20.
______
21. Taxable benefits under lump-sum election method.
Add
lines 19 and 20
21.
______
Next.
Is line 21 above smaller than Worksheet 1, line 19?
No.
Do not use this method to figure your taxable
benefits. Follow the instructions on Worksheet 1 to
report your benefits.
Yes.
You can elect to report your taxable benefits
under this method.
To elect this method:
1. Enter "LSE" to the left of Form 1040, line 20a, or
Form 1040A, line 14a.
2. If line 21 above is zero, follow the instructions in line
10 for "No" on Worksheet 1. Otherwise:
a. Enter the amount from Worksheet 1, line 1, on
Form 1040A, line 14a.
b. Enter the amount from line 21 above on Form 1040, line
20b, or on Form 1040A, line 14b.
c. If you are married filing separately and you
lived
apart
from your spouse for all of 2015, enter "D" to
the right of the word "benefits" on Form 1040, line
20a, or Form 1040A, line 14a.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Appendix
This appendix explains items shown on Form SSA-1099 and Form RRB-1099. Forms SSA-1042S and RRB-1042S, for nonresident aliens, contain the same items plus a few additional ones. These are also explained.
CAUTION: The illustrated versions of Form SSA-1099, SSA-1042S, RRB-1099, and RRB-1042S in this appendix are proof copies of the forms as they appeared when this publication went to print. The information on the illustrated forms should be essentially the same as the information on the form you received from either the SSA or the RRB. You should, however, compare the form you received with the one shown in this publication to note any differences.
Form SSA-1099 -- Social Security Benefit Statement 2015
Every person who received social security benefits will receive a Form SSA-1099. If you receive benefits on more than one social security record, you may get more than one Form SSA-1099. IRS Notice 703 will be enclosed with this form. It contains a worksheet to help you figure if any of your benefits are taxable. Do not mail Notice 703 to either the IRS or the SSA.
[The following graphic has not been reproduced:
2015 Form SSA-1099, Social Security Benefit Statement]
Box 1--Name
The name shown in this box refers to the person for whom the social security benefits shown on the statement were paid. If you received benefits for yourself, your name will be shown.
Box 2--Beneficiary's Social Security Number
This is the U.S. social security number, if known, of the person named in box 1.
TIP: In all your correspondence with the SSA, be sure to use the claim number shown in box 8.
Box 3--Benefits Paid in 2015
The figure shown in this box is the total benefits paid in 2015 to you (the person named in box 1). This figure may not agree with the amounts you actually received because adjustments may have been made to your benefits before you received them. An asterisk (*) after the figure shown in this box means that it includes benefits received in 2015 for one or more earlier years.
Description of Amount in Box 3
This part of the form describes the items included in the amount shown in box 3. It lists the benefits paid and any adjustments made. Only the adjustments that apply to you will be shown. If no adjustments were made to the benefits paid, the word "none" will be shown.
Paid by check or direct deposit. This is the amount you actually received or that was deposited directly into your account in a financial institution in 2015.
Additions. The following adjustment items may have been deducted from your benefits in 2015. If amounts appear on your Form SSA-1099 next to these items, they will be added to the amount shown in "Paid by check or direct deposit."
TIP: Do not reduce the amount of net social security benefits (box 5) by any of the items listed below. Use the amount in box 5 to figure taxable social security.
Medicare premiums deducted from your benefit. If you have Medicare premiums deducted from your benefits, this is the amount withheld during 2015. The basic monthly premium in 2015 was $104.90 for most people, but it could be higher if you were a new enrollee in 2015, you enrolled after you were first eligible, you had a break in coverage, or the modified adjusted gross income shown on your 2013 federal income tax return is greater than $85,000 ($170,000 if married filing jointly).
Medicare Part C, Medicare Advantage Premium, and Medicare Part D, Prescription Drug Premium, are other Medicare deductions you may have. These premiums may vary.
Workers' compensation offset. If you are disabled and receive workers' compensation or Part C Black Lung payments, your benefits are subject to a payment limit. An entry will be shown here if your benefits were reduced to stay within this limit. An entry will also be shown here if your benefits were reduced because the person on whose social security record you were paid is disabled and also received workers' compensation or Part C Black Lung payments.
Paid to another family member. This entry shows total payments withheld from your benefits if you are required to pay child support or alimony.
Deductions for work or other adjustments. Amounts withheld from your benefits because of work or to recover an overpayment of any type of benefit are benefits paid to you and will be shown here. They also may be treated as benefits repaid to SSA and included in the amount in box 4.
Attorney fees. If you had an attorney handle your social security claim, the figure shown here is the fee withheld from your benefits and paid directly to your attorney.
Voluntary federal income tax withheld. This shows the total amount of federal income tax withheld from your benefits. Include this amount on your income tax return as tax withheld.
Treasury benefit payment offset, garnishment, and/or tax levy. Part of your Title II Social Security benefit may be withheld on behalf of the Treasury Department to recover debts you owe to other federal agencies; part of your Title II Social Security benefits may be withheld to pay child support, alimony, or court ordered victim restitution; and/or part of your Title II Social Security benefits may be withheld to pay your debt to the IRS.
Total additions. The figure shown here is the sum of the amounts paid by check or direct deposit plus all the additions described previously.
Subtractions. The following adjustment items may have been included in the payments you received in 2015. If amounts appear on your Form SSA-1099 next to these items, they will be subtracted from the figure in Total Additions.
Payments for months before December 1983. The figure shown here is the amount of benefits you received in 2015 that was for months before December 1983. These benefits are not taxable no matter when they are paid.
Lump-sum death payment. The lump-sum death payment is not subject to tax. An entry here means you received this kind of payment in 2015.
Amounts refunded to you. The amount shown here may include Medicare premiums you paid in excess of the amount actually due. It also may include amounts withheld in 2015 to pay your attorney in excess of the fee actually paid.
Nontaxable payments. This entry shows nontaxable payments such as lump-sum death payments.
Amounts paid to you for other family members. This entry shows benefit payments paid to you on behalf of a minor child or disabled adult.
Total subtractions. The figure shown here is the sum of all the subtractions described previously.
Benefits for 2015. The amount shown here is the result of subtracting the figure in Total subtractions from the figure in Total additions. This amount is the same as that shown in box 3.
*Box 3 includes $____ paid in 2015 for 2014, 2013, and other tax years. The figure shown here is the amount of any lump-sum benefit payment received in 2015 that is for an earlier year after 1983. See Lump-Sum Election, earlier, for a full discussion on how these payments are handled.
Box 4--Benefits Repaid to SSA in 2015
The figure shown in this box is the total amount of benefits you repaid to SSA in 2015.
Description of Amount in Box 4
This part of the form describes the items included in the amount shown in box 4. It lists the amount of benefit checks you returned to SSA and any adjustments for other types of repayments. The amounts listed include all amounts repaid in 2015, no matter when the benefits were received. Only the repayments that apply to you will be shown. If you did not make any repayments, the word "none" will be shown.
Checks returned to SSA. If any of your benefit checks were returned to SSA, the total is shown here.
Deductions for work or other adjustments. If any amounts were withheld from your benefits because of work or to recover an overpayment of retirement, survivors, or disability benefits, the total will be shown here. This may also be shown as Deductions for work or other adjustments under Description of Amount in Box 3.
Other repayments. This is the amount you repaid to SSA by direct remittance.
Benefits repaid to SSA in 2015. The amount shown here is the sum of all your repayments. This total is the same as that shown in box 4.
Box 5--Net Benefits for 2015 (Box 3 minus Box 4)
The figure in this box is the net benefits paid to you for the year. It is the result of subtracting the figure in box 4 from the figure in box 3. Enter this amount on line A of IRS Notice 703, or on line 1 of Worksheet 1, shown earlier, or on the worksheet in either the 1040A instructions.
If parentheses are around the figure in box 5, it means that the figure in box 4 is larger than the figure in box 3. This is a negative figure and means you repaid more money than you received in 2015. If you have any questions about this negative figure, contact your local SSA office. For more information, see Repayments More Than Gross Benefits, earlier.
Box 6--Voluntary Federal Income Tax Withheld
This shows the total amount of federal income tax withheld from your benefits. Include this amount on your income tax return as tax withheld.
Form SSA-1042S, Social Security Benefit Statement 2015 (Nonresident Aliens)
This form is for nonresident aliens. It contains the following four additional items that do not appear on Form SSA-1099.
Box 6--Rate of Tax
This is the rate at which tax was withheld from 85% of your benefits. If tax was withheld at more than one rate during the year, the percentage shown will be the tax rate in December 2015. The tax rate for most nonresident aliens is 30%. If you are a resident of Switzerland, your total benefit amount will be taxed at a 15% rate. The figure "0" will appear in this box if you were not taxed in December or if you were exempt under a tax treaty. Benefits received by residents of Canada, Egypt, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Romania, and the United Kingdom are exempt from U.S. tax.
Under a treaty with India, benefits paid to individuals who are both residents and nationals of India are exempt from U.S. tax if the benefits are for services performed for the United States, its subdivisions, or local government authorities. See Pub. 519 for more information on nonresident aliens.
Box 7--Amount of Tax Withheld
This is the amount of tax taken out of your social security checks. Tax is withheld for any month in which you were a nonresident alien (unless you were exempt under a tax treaty).
Box 8--Amount of Tax Refunded
An amount in this block shows any tax SSA refunded to you. When SSA withholds tax from your checks by mistake, they try to return it to you during the same calendar year. If SSA is unable to send the refund to you before the year ends, you must file a federal income tax return to get a refund of this tax.
Box 9--Net Tax Withheld During 2015
The figure in this box is the result of subtracting the figure in box 8 from the figure in box 7. This is the net amount of tax withheld from your benefits.
[The following graphic has not been reproduced:
2015 Form SSA-1042S, Social Security Benefit Statement]
Form RRB-1099, Payments by the Railroad Retirement Board 2015
This section explains the items shown on Form RRB-1099. Form RRB-1099 is issued to citizens and residents of the United States. If you received, repaid, or had tax withheld from the social security equivalent benefit (SSEB) portion of tier 1 railroad retirement benefits or special guaranty benefits during 2015, you will receive Form RRB-1099.
[The following graphic has not been reproduced:
2015 Form RRB-1099, Payments by the Railroad Retirement Board]
If you received, repaid, or had tax withheld from any non-social security equivalent benefit (NSSEB) portion of tier 1, tier 2, vested dual benefits or supplemental annuity benefits during 2015, you will receive Form RRB-1099-R, Annuities or Pensions by the Railroad Retirement Board. For more information concerning Form RRB-1099-R, see
Pub. 575.
TIP: Each beneficiary will receive his or her own Form RRB-1099. If you receive benefits on more than one railroad retirement record, you may get more than one Form RRB-1099. To help insure that you get your form timely, make sure the RRB always has your current mailing address.
Box 1--Claim Number and Payee Code
Your RRB claim number is a six- or nine-digit number preceded by an alphabetical prefix and is the number under which the SSEB portion of tier 1 benefits or special guaranty benefits were paid. Your payee code is the number following your claim number and is used by the RRB to identify you under your claim number. In all your contacts with the RRB, be sure to use the claim number and payee code shown in this box.
Box 2--Recipient's Identification Number
This is the U.S. social security number (SSN), individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN), or employer identification number (EIN), if known, for the person or estate listed as the recipient.
Box 3--Gross Social Security Equivalent Benefit Portion of Tier 1 Paid in 2015
The figure shown in this box is the gross SSEB portion of tier 1 benefits or special guaranty benefits paid to you in 2015. It is the amount before any deductions were made for:
• Federal income tax withholding,
• Medicare premiums,
• Legal Process Garnishment payments,
• Overall minimum assignment payments,
• Recovery of an overpayment, including recovery of Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act benefits received while awaiting payment of your railroad retirement annuity, and
• Workers' compensation offset (explained in the description of box 6, later).
The figure in box 3 is the amount after any deductions were made for:
• Social security benefits,
• Age reduction,
• Public service pensions or public disability benefits,
• Dual railroad retirement entitlement under another RRB claim number,
• Work deductions,
• Actuarial adjustment,
• Annuity waiver, and
• Legal Process Partition payments.
CAUTION: Social security benefits paid through the RRB are not reported on Form RRB-1099 or RRB-1042S. They are reported on Form SSA-1099 or Form SSA-1042S issued by the SSA.
Example 1. For the period January through March 2015, you received $300 ($100 × 3 months) Railroad Unemployment Insurance. You were eligible for the SSEB portion of tier 1 benefits of $509 a month beginning January 1, 2015, but you did not receive your first payment until April 2015. The payment you received in April was for the first 3 months of 2015. However, because you received unemployment benefits during the same period, $300 was deducted from your initial benefit payment. Instead of receiving $1,527 ($509 × 3 months), you received $1,227 ($1,527 - $300). For the months of April through November, you were paid your regular monthly SSEB portion of tier 1 benefits of $509. Box 3 of your Form RRB-1099 will show $5,599 ($509 × 11 months) as the gross SSEB portion of tier 1 benefits paid to you in 2015, even though you did not actually receive that amount. This is because box 3 shows the gross amount of your benefits before any reductions were made for the unemployment benefits paid to you.
Example 2. You received tier 1 benefits of $600 a month for the months of December 2014 through May 2015. Your $600 monthly tier 1 benefits consist of an SSEB portion of $250 and a non-social security equivalent benefit (NSSEB) portion of $350. Beginning in June 2015, you became entitled to Medicare, and $104.90 a month was deducted from your benefit checks for Medicare premiums. Therefore, the tier 1 payments you received for the rest of the year were $495.10 ($600 - $104.90) a month. Box 3 of your Form RRB-1099 will show the gross SSEB portion of tier 1 benefits of $3,000 ($250 × 12 months), because it is the gross SSEB amount before deductions for your Medicare premiums. Box 11 of your Form RRB-1099 will show your Medicare premiums of $629.40 ($104.90 × 6 months) deducted from June through November 2015. The remainder of your tier 1 payments, the NSSEB portion of $4,200 ($350 × 12 months), will be shown on the Form RRB-1099-R that you will receive along with your Form RRB-1099. The $4,200 is the gross NSSEB amount before deductions for your Medicare premiums. (The Medicare Premium Total box shown on your Form RRB-1099-R will be blank because the Medicare total will be shown in box 11 of your Form RRB-1099.) For more information on Form RRB-1099-R, see Pub. 575.
Benefits paid for earlier years. The figure in box 3 includes any lump-sum benefit payment you received in 2015 that is for an earlier year after 1983. If you received a payment for an earlier year, it will be shown in box 7, 8, or 9 (described later). See Lump-Sum Election, earlier, for information on how to treat the payment.
Box 4--Social Security Equivalent Benefit Portion of Tier 1 Repaid to RRB in 2015
The figure shown in this box is the total SSEB portion of tier 1 benefits you repaid to the RRB in 2015. You may have repaid a benefit by returning a payment, making a cash refund, or having an amount withheld from your payments. In addition, an amount may have been withheld from your benefits to recover the SSEB overpayment incurred by someone else who is also receiving benefits under your claim number. Also, an amount may have been withheld from another benefit, such as a social security benefit, to recover an SSEB overpayment you received.
The amount in box 4 also includes any SSEB benefits you repaid in 2015 that were for 2015 or for 1 or more years before 2015. All tier 1 repayments for years before 1986 are treated entirely as SSEB benefits.
Example 1. You returned to work for your last railroad employer for the months of June through August 2015. The SSEB portion of your tier 1 benefits was $450 for each of those months. Since you are not allowed to receive benefits for any month you returned to railroad service, you have to make a repayment to the RRB. You returned the benefit payment for June through August 2015. Box 4 of your Form RRB-1099 will show $1,350 ($450 × 3 months) as the SSEB portion of tier 1 benefits you repaid to the RRB.
Example 2. From January through April 2015 you were overpaid $800 in the SSEB portion of tier 1 benefits. From May through August 2015, $200 a month was withheld from your benefit payment to fully recover the $800 overpayment. Box 4 of your Form RRB-1099 will show $800 ($200 × 4 months) as the SSEB portion of tier 1 benefits you repaid to the RRB.
Example 3. As a retired railroad employee, you have been receiving a railroad retirement annuity, including an SSEB portion of tier 1 benefits, since 2014. You also became entitled to, and received from the SSA, a social security benefit of $300 a month beginning May 1, 2015. SSA later authorized the RRB to pay that benefit. In August 2015, the RRB began paying your social security benefit to you and reduced the SSEB portion of your monthly tier 1 benefit by $300. Social security benefits of $900 ($300 × 3 months) covering the period May through July 2015 were kept by the RRB to offset your $900 SSEB overpayment for that same period. Box 4 of your Form RRB-1099 will show $900 as the SSEB portion of tier 1 benefits you repaid to the RRB. (Note. SSA will send you Form SSA-1099, which will include the $900 in benefits paid by them for the months of May through July 2015.)
Box 5--Net Social Security Equivalent Benefit Portion of Tier 1 Paid in 2015
The figure shown in this box is the net amount of the SSEB portion of tier 1 benefits paid to you in 2015. It is the result of subtracting the amount in box 4 from the amount in box 3. If you received more than one Form RRB-1099 for 2015, you should add the amounts in box 5 of all Forms RRB-1099 to determine your net amount of SSEB payments for 2015. Use this amount to determine if any of your benefits are taxable. See Are Any of Your Benefits Taxable, earlier.
If parentheses are around the figure in box 5, it means that the figure in box 4 is larger than the figure in box 3. This is a negative figure and means you repaid more money than you received in 2015. For more information, see Repayments More Than Gross Benefits, earlier.
Box 6--Workers' Compensation Offset in 2015
The figure shown in this box is the amount you received in workers' compensation benefits during the year that was used to offset the full amount of your tier 1 payments. The SSEB portions of your tier 1 benefits shown in boxes 3 and 5 include amounts by which your SSEB payments were reduced for workers' compensation benefits. Your workers' compensation amount is shown in this box separately only for your information. If you did not receive workers' compensation benefits, box 6 is blank.
Example. For 2015, your tier 1 benefit of $450 a month is reduced to $400 because of a $50-a-month workers' compensation offset. Boxes 3 and 5 of your Form RRB-1099 will show $5,400 ($450 × 12 months) as the SSEB portion of tier 1 benefits paid to you by the RRB. The $5,400 is the amount before any deductions were made for the workers' compensation offset. Box 4 will show zero because you did not make any repayments during the year. Box 6 of your form will show $600 ($50 workers' compensation × 12 months). In figuring if any of your benefits are taxable, you must use $5,400 (box 5) as the amount of the SSEB portion of tier 1 benefits paid to you.
Boxes 7 and 8--Social Security Equivalent Benefit Portion of Tier 1 Paid for 2014 or 2013
The figure shown in each applicable box is the amount of SSEB benefits paid to you in 2015 that was for 2014 or 2013. This amount is included in the amount shown in box 3.
Box 9--Social Security Equivalent Benefit Portion of Tier 1 Paid for Years Prior to 2013
The figure shown in this box is the amount of SSEB benefits paid to you in 2015 that was for 2012 and earlier years after 1983. This amount is included in the amount shown in box 3. Any tier 1 benefit paid for a period before 1986 is treated as SSEB.
[The following graphic has not been reproduced:
2015 Form RRB-1042S, Payments by the Railroad Retirement Board]
Box 10--Federal Income Tax Withheld
The figure shown in this box is the total amount of U.S. federal income tax withheld on your 2015 tier 1 SSEB or special guaranty benefit payments. This total is based on the amount of SSEB tax withholding requested on IRS Form W-4V, Voluntary Withholding Request. Include this amount on your income tax return as tax withheld.
Box 11--Medicare Premium Total
This is the total amount of Part B, Part C and/or Part D Medicare premiums deducted from your railroad retirement annuity payments shown on your Form RRB-1099.
Form RRB-1042S, Payments by the Railroad Retirement Board 2015 (Nonresident Aliens)
This form is for nonresident aliens. It contains the following four additional items that do not appear on Form RRB-1099.
Note. If your country of legal residence changed or your tax withholding rate changed during the year, you may receive more than one Form RRB-1042S. To determine your total amounts for the year, you should add the amounts shown on all Forms RRB-1042S you received for that year.
Box 10--Country
The country where you maintain your legal residence is shown in this box. If you maintained legal residence in more than one country during the year, you will receive a separate Form RRB-1042S for each country of legal residence during the year.
Box 11--Rate of Tax
The figure in this box is the rate at which tax was withheld from 85% of the SSEB portion of tier 1 or special guaranty benefit payments you received in 2015. If tax was withheld at more than one rate during the year, you will receive a separate Form RRB-1042S for each rate change during the year. The tax rate for most nonresident aliens is 30%. The figure "0%" or "15%" may appear in this box if you claimed a tax treaty exemption by filing Form RRB-1001 with the RRB. For more information, see Nonresident aliens, earlier, under Are Any of Your Benefits Taxable.
Box 12--Federal Tax Withheld
The figure in this box is the total amount of 2015 U.S. federal income tax withheld from the SSEB portion of your tier 1 or special guaranty benefit payments while you were a legal resident of the country shown in box 10 in 2015. If you received more than one Form RRB-1042S for 2015, add the amounts in box 12 of all Forms RRB-1042S to determine your total amount of U.S. federal income tax withheld from SSEB payments for 2015. Tax is withheld for any month in which you were a nonresident alien (unless you claimed exemption under a tax treaty).
Box 13--Medicare Premium Total
This is the total amount of Part B, Part C and/or Part D Medicare premiums deducted from your railroad retirement annuity payments shown on your Form RRB-1099.
See Pub. 519 for more information on nonresident aliens.
TIP: You should contact your nearest RRB field office (if you reside in the United States) or U.S. consulate/embassy (if you reside outside of the United States) for assistance with your RRB tax statement inquiries. If you are in the United States or Canada, you can call the RRB toll free at 1-877-772-5772. You can also visit the RRB on the Internet at http://www.rrb.gov. If you have any questions about how to figure your taxable payments or what amounts to show on your income tax returns, contact the IRS.
If you have questions about a tax issue, need help preparing your tax return, or want to download free publications, forms, or instructions, go to IRS.gov and find resources that can help you right away.
Preparing and filing your tax return. Find free options to prepare and file your return on IRS.gov or in your local community if you qualify.
• Go to IRS.gov and click on the Filing tab to see your options.
• Enter "Free File" in the search box to see whether you can use brand-name software to prepare and e-file your federal tax return for free.
• Enter "VITA" in the search box, download the free IRS2Go app, or call 1-800-906-9887 to find the nearest Volunteer Income Tax Assistance or Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) location for free tax preparation.
• Enter "TCE" in the search box, download the free IRS2Go app, or call 1-888-227-7669 to find the nearest Tax Counseling for the Elderly location for free tax preparation.
The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program offers free tax help to people who generally make $54,000 or less, persons with disabilities, the elderly, and limited-English-speaking taxpayers who need help preparing their own tax returns. The Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) program offers free tax help for all taxpayers, particularly those who are 60 years of age and older. TCE volunteers specialize in answering questions about pensions and retirement-related issues unique to seniors.
Getting answers to your tax law questions. On IRS.gov get answers to your tax questions anytime, anywhere.
• Go to
http://www.irs.gov/Help-&-Resourcesfor a variety of tools that will help you with your taxes.
• Enter "ITA" in the search box on IRS.gov for the Interactive Tax Assistant, a tool that will ask you questions on a number of tax law topics and provide answers. You can print the entire interview and the final response.
• Enter "Pub 17" in the search box on IRS.gov to get Pub. 17, Your Federal Income Tax for Individuals, which features details on tax-saving opportunities, 2015 tax changes, and thousands of interactive links to help you find answers to your questions.
• Additionally, you may be able to access tax law information in your electronic filing software.
Tax forms and publications.
You can download or print all of the forms and publications you may need on
http://www.irs.gov/formspubs.Otherwise, you can go to
http://www.irs.gov/orderformsto place an order and have forms mailed to you. You should receive your order within 10 business days.
Direct deposit. The fastest way to receive a tax refund is by combining direct deposit and IRS e-file. Direct deposit securely and electronically transfers your refund directly into your financial account. Eight in 10 taxpayers use direct deposit to receive their refund. The majority of refunds are received within 21 days or less.
Getting a transcript or copy of a return.
• Go to IRS.gov and click on "Get Transcript of Your Tax Records" under "Tools."
• Call the transcript toll-free line at 1-800-908-9946.
• Mail Form 4506-T or Form 4506T-EZ (both available on IRS.gov).
Using online tools to help prepare your return.
Go to IRS.gov and click on the Tools bar to use these and other self-service options.
• The
Earned Income Tax Credit Assistantdetermines if you are eligible for the EIC.
• The Online EIN Application helps you get an employer identification number.
• The IRS Withholding Calculator estimates the amount you should have withheld from your paycheck for federal income tax purposes.
• The Electronic Filing PIN Request helps to verify your identity when you do not have your prior year AGI or prior year self-selected PIN available.
• The First Time Homebuyer Credit Account Look-up tool provides information on your repayments and account balance.
For help with the alternative minimum tax, go to IRS.gov/AMT.
Understanding identity theft issues.
• Go to
http://www.irs.gov/uac/Identity-Protectionfor information and videos.
• If your SSN has been lost or stolen or you suspect you are a victim of tax-related identity theft, visit http://www.irs.gov/identitytheft to learn what steps you should take.
Checking on the status of a refund.
• Go to
http://www.irs.gov/refunds.• Download the free IRS2Go app to your smart phone and use it to check your refund status.
• Call the automated refund hotline at 1-800-829-1954.
Making a tax payment.
The IRS uses the latest encryption technology so electronic payments are safe and secure. You can make electronic payments online, by phone, or from a mobile device. Paying electronically is quick, easy, and faster than mailing in a check or money order. Go to
http://www.irs.gov/paymentsto make a payment using any of the following options.
•
IRS Direct Pay(for individual taxpayers who have a checking or savings account).
• Debit or credit card (approved payment processors online or by phone).
• Electronic Funds Withdrawal (available during e-file).
• Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (best option for businesses; enrollment required).
• Check or money order.
• IRS2Go provides access to mobile-friendly payment options like IRS Direct Pay, offering you a free, secure way to pay directly from your bank account. You can also make debit or credit card payments through an approved payment processor. Simply download IRS2Go from Google Play, the Apple App Store, or the Amazon Appstore, and make your payments anytime, anywhere.
What if I can't pay now?
Click on the "Pay Your Tax Bill" icon on IRS.gov for more information about these additional options.
• Apply for an
online payment agreementto meet your tax obligation in monthly installments if you cannot pay your taxes in full today. Once you complete the online process, you will receive immediate notification of whether your agreement has been approved.
• An offer in compromise allows you to settle your tax debt for less than the full amount you owe. Use the Offer in Compromise Pre-Qualifier to confirm your eligibility.
Checking the status of an amended return.
Go to IRS.gov and click on the Tools tab and then
Where's My Amended Return?Understanding an IRS notice or letter. Enter "Understanding your notice" in the search box on IRS.gov to find additional information about your IRS notice or letter.
Visiting the IRS. Locate the nearest Taxpayer Assistance Center using the Office Locator tool on IRS.gov. Enter "office locator" in the search box. Or choose the "Contact Us" option on the IRS2Go app and search Local Offices. Before you visit, use the Locator tool to check hours and services available.
Watching IRS videos. The IRS Video portal http://www.irsvideos.gov contains video and audio presentations for individuals, small businesses, and tax professionals. You'll find video clips of tax topics, archived versions of panel discussions and Webinars, and audio archives of tax practitioner phone forums.
Getting tax information in other languages. For taxpayers whose native language is not English, we have the following resources available.
1. Taxpayers can find information on IRS.gov in the following languages.
a.
Spanish.b. Chinese.
c. Vietnamese.
d. Korean.
e. Russian.
2. The IRS Taxpayer Assistance Centers provide over-the-phone interpreter service in over 170 languages, and the service is available free to taxpayers.
The Taxpayer Advocate Service Is Here To Help You
What is the Taxpayer Advocate Service?
The Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) is an independent organization within the Internal Revenue Service that helps taxpayers and protects taxpayer rights. Our job is to ensure that every taxpayer is treated fairly and that you know and understand your rights under the Taxpayer Bill of Rights.
What Can the Taxpayer Advocate Service Do For You?
We can help you resolve problems that you can't resolve with the IRS. And our service is free. If you qualify for our assistance, you will be assigned to one advocate who will work with you throughout the process and will do everything possible to resolve your issue. TAS can help you if:
• Your problem is causing financial difficulty for you, your family, or your business,
• You face (or your business is facing) an immediate threat of adverse action, or
• You've tried repeatedly to contact the IRS but no one has responded, or the IRS hasn't responded by the date promised.
How Can You Reach Us?
We have offices in every state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Your local advocate's number is in your local directory and at http://www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov. You can also call us at 1-877-777-4778.
How Can You Learn About Your Taxpayer Rights?
The Taxpayer Bill of Rights describes ten basic rights that all taxpayers have when dealing with the IRS. Our Tax Toolkit at http://www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov can help you understand what these rights mean to you and how they apply. These are your rights. Know them. Use them.
How Else Does the Taxpayer Advocate Service Help Taxpayers?
TAS works to resolve large-scale problems that affect many taxpayers. If you know of one of these broad issues, please report it to us at http://www.irs.gov/sams.
Low Income Taxpayer Clinics
Low Income Taxpayer Clinics (LITCs) serve individuals whose income is below a certain level and need to resolve tax problems such as audits, appeals, and tax collection disputes. Some clinics can provide information about taxpayer rights and responsibilities in different languages for individuals who speak English as a second language. To find a clinic near you, visit http://www.irs.gov/litc or see IRS Publication 4134, Low Income Taxpayer Clinic List.
- Institutional AuthorsInternal Revenue Service
- Jurisdictions
- LanguageEnglish
