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Social Security Taxation Calculator

Section 86 · reviewed September 5, 2026

Works out how much of your Social Security benefit is taxed, based on your other income. About

In plain words. Social Security is tax-free at low incomes and up to 85 percent taxable at higher ones. The test uses your other income plus half your benefit, against thresholds that have not changed in decades. This tool takes your benefit and your other income and shows how much of the benefit counts as taxable income, and how much more other income you could have before the next threshold.

Why it matters. It explains a surprise many retirees meet: a modest IRA withdrawal raises the tax bill by more than its bracket suggests, because it also pulls more of the benefit into income.

An example. A single person with $30,000 of Social Security and $60,000 of other income has $25,500 of the benefit taxed, the 85 percent maximum.

Where it stops. This is the federal rule only; states differ, and Illinois does not tax Social Security at all. It does not compute the tax itself, only the taxable amount. Everything it leaves out.

$

The total for the year, before Medicare premiums are taken out. It is box 5 of your SSA-1099.

Filing status

Pensions, IRA withdrawals, wages, interest, dividends, and tax-exempt interest, before any deductions.

Part of your benefit that is taxed
$17,900
49.7% of your benefit counts as taxable income. The test adds your other income to half your benefit. That total, $58,000, is what the law calls provisional income. It is over the $44,000 line, where up to 85 percent of the benefit is taxed. No level of income taxes more than that.
Where your provisional income falls on the joint linesA bar from zero to $70k in three zones: none of the benefit taxable up to $32,000, up to half between $32,000 and $44,000, up to 85 percent above. Provisional income of $58,000 fills the bar to that point.None taxableUp to 50%Up to 85%First line $32kSecond line $44k

The two lines were set in 1983 and 1993 and have never been adjusted for inflation. That is why a tax that reached few retirees then reaches most now. Between the lines, each extra dollar of other income makes 50 cents of benefit taxable. Above the second line, each extra dollar makes 85 cents taxable, until the 85 percent ceiling is reached.

This follows the federal rule for taxing Social Security benefits, using the 2026 figures. It shows how much of the benefit is taxable, not the tax itself, which depends on your deductions and bracket. It does not cover a married person filing separately while living with their spouse, whose benefit is taxable from the first dollar of income. Educational, not advice.

This is a simplified model, not your actual tax return or plan. It only knows what you type in, leaves out rules that may apply to you, and cannot weigh the other facts and trade-offs a real decision depends on. Before you act, talk with a professional who knows your whole situation.

Educational only, not investment, tax, or legal advice. Results are hypothetical estimates that vary with each use and over time and are not guaranteed accurate or complete. Using this tool creates no client relationship with Considerate Capital, and the site that linked here is not affiliated with it. By using it you agree to the tool terms.