What this line means
The total Social Security benefits you received during the year, from Box 5 of Form SSA-1099. This includes retirement benefits, survivor benefits, and disability benefits paid by the Social Security Administration. This is the gross amount before determining how much is taxable. Medicare premiums deducted from your benefit are still included in this total.
Does this apply to you?
- You receive Social Security retirement benefits
- You receive Social Security survivor benefits
- You receive Social Security disability benefits (SSDI)
- You received a lump-sum retroactive Social Security payment
- Your spouse receives Social Security benefits and you file jointly
Easy to overlook
Lump-sum retroactive payments are included in the current year If you received a lump-sum Social Security payment covering prior years (common when benefits are approved after an appeal), the entire lump sum appears in Box 5 of your SSA-1099 for the year you received it. You can elect to allocate portions back to earlier years using the lump-sum election method in Publication 915, which sometimes produces a lower tax. 1 IRS Publication 915 — Social Security and Equivalent Railroad Retirement Benefits
Voluntary withholding does not reduce the gross amount If you elected to have federal tax withheld from your Social Security benefits (using Form W-4V), the withheld amount is still included in the gross total on line 6a. The withholding goes on line 25b, not as a reduction to line 6a. Filers who subtract withholding from the gross amount understate their benefits. 2 General filing pattern — omitting lump-sum retroactive benefits
Watch out for this
Using Box 3 (benefits paid) instead of Box 5 (net benefits) from Form SSA-1099. Box 5 accounts for any repayments you made to the SSA during the year. Box 3 does not. If you repaid an overpayment, Boxes 3 and 5 differ, and line 6a uses Box 5.
Footnotes
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IRS Publication 915, Social Security and Equivalent Railroad Retirement Benefits. https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p915.pdf ↩
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IRS Publication 915, Social Security and Equivalent Railroad Retirement Benefits, Voluntary Withholding. https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p915.pdf ↩