Social security and equivalent railroad retirement benefits

Chapter 11
Social security and equivalent railroad retirement benefits

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This chapter explains the federal income tax rules for social security benefits and equivalent tier 1 railroad retirement benefits. It explains the following topics.

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 2014, you should have received a Form SSA-1099, Social Security Benefit Statement, or Form RRB-1099, Payments by the Railroad Retirement Board. These forms show the amounts received and repaid, and taxes withheld for the year. You may receive more than one of these forms for the same year. You should add the amounts shown on all the Forms SSA-1099 and Forms RRB-1099 you receive for the year to determine the total amounts received and repaid, and taxes withheld for that year. See the Appendix at the end of Publication 915 for more information.

Note. When the term “benefits” is used in this chapter, it applies to both social security benefits and the SSEB portion of tier 1 railroad retirement benefits.

What is not covered in this chapter. This chapter does not cover the tax rules for the following railroad retirement benefits.

For information on these benefits, see Publication 575, Pension and Annuity Income.

This chapter does not cover the tax rules for social security benefits reported on Form SSA-1042S, Social Security Benefit Statement, or Form RRB-1042S, Statement for Nonresident Alien Recipients of: Payments by the Railroad Retirement Board. For information about these benefits, see Publication 519, U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens, and Publication 915, Social Security and Equivalent Railroad Retirement Benefits.

This chapter 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.

Useful Items

You may want to see:

Publication

Forms (and Instructions)

Are Any of Your Benefits Taxable?

To find out whether any of your benefits may be taxable, compare the base amount for your filing status with the total of:

When making this comparison, do not reduce your other income by any exclusions for:

Children’s benefits. The rules in this chapter apply to benefits received by children. See Who is taxed, later.

Figuring total income. To figure the total of one-half of your benefits plus your other income, use Worksheet 11-1 later in this discussion. 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 2014, 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.

Base amount. Your base amount is: