# Question on tax witholding from SS benefits



## Marie5656 (Mar 20, 2018)

I hope I am asking this question clearly.   As you know, I am already retired, and DH will retire in a few months.  I have not yet filled out my *Form* W-4V​ for withdrawing Fed taxes on my benefits as hubby wanted me to consult with our accountant when he does our taxes.  So, we will be filling out the forms for both of us.  
DH wants to know how to figure what our taxes will be at the end of the year.  I tried to tell him it will depend on how much we withhold.  Like when we were working.  He is still insistant he needs to know.  I tried to tell him I would as our accountant when I go, but that seemed not good enough for him.

I have looked all over the IRS and SSA sites.  I am sure he is looking for some sort of calculator that says "Ok, DH, this is how much you will pay".

I am getting a bit frustrated when he gets this bee in his bonnet about such things.

HELP


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## Aunt Bea (Mar 20, 2018)

I give my accountant my best guess at next years income and deductible expenses.

He gives me a ballpark estimate of next years taxes based on the current tax rules.

This link to SSA might help satisfy your hubby.

https://www.ssa.gov/planners/taxes.html

Good luck!


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## Marie5656 (Mar 20, 2018)

Thanks. Aunt Bea, I am going to get our taxes done on Saturday. I am bringing the W-7V form with me so I remember what to ask.


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## mathjak107 (Mar 21, 2018)

you can only guess unless you receive no other income from investments and can predict your medical expenses . we simply told ss to hold 15%


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## OneEyedDiva (Mar 21, 2018)

Mathjak is right. It depends on what other income you received, if any as well as how much your claimable medical expenses were.  For 2017, they taxed more of my social security than 2016 because I had more dividends and capital gains income, even though I take the standard deduction.


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## mathjak107 (Mar 21, 2018)

my wifes dental easily let us itemize i am sorry to say  ha ha ha


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## Colleen (Apr 13, 2018)

I know this is an "older" thread but I'm just catching up on this forum. My husband (77) and I (71) have been retired for several years. We're definitely "old school" about money and have not had enough money over the years to invest, but we always worked and had our deductions from our paychecks. When hubby retired in 2001, we continued to have 10% taken out of his pension and SS. It was a good chunk but we got it back at the end of the year when we filed. We did the same with my SS when I retired. Our adult children tell us we should keep our money and bank it all year instead of letting the government have it. What's your thoughts on that?


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## Butterfly (Apr 13, 2018)

I agree with your children  Why let the gov't have free use of your money all year long?


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## Colleen (Apr 13, 2018)

Thanks Butterfly  I need to convince my husband of that. He's always afraid we'll have to pay in at the end of the year. I've tried to show him that everything we pay in comes back so why are we not using our money instead of the government?? Sigh......


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## rkunsaw (Apr 13, 2018)

Colleen, If the only reason you file a tax form is to get back what you paid you can quit having taxes taken out and you  won't have to file a tax return at all. Our only income is SS and a company pension and we haven't filed taxes for several years.


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## Colleen (Apr 13, 2018)

rkunsaw said:


> Colleen, If the only reason you file a tax form is to get back what you paid you can quit having taxes taken out and you  won't have to file a tax return at all. Our only income is SS and a company pension and we haven't filed taxes for several years.



Holy Moley!!! How do you do that???? Do you only make a certain amount that you can do that?? I thought EVERYONE had to file...no matter how much or little you make.

Yes, we only file a 1040 and don't have any itemized deductions. I thought it was mandatory to have taxes taken out of SS.

Here's a quote from Turbotax web: If you are married and file a joint return with a spouse who is also 65 or older, you must file a return if your combined gross income is $23,300 or more.


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## Marie5656 (Apr 13, 2018)

*Thanks for bumping this thread. But, apparently, according to my accountant , our combined income, especially after DH retires, will not make it necessary for is to file Income Taxes after next year.  Rick is still working, but retires in May, so we will be going in next April to have them done. He told me he will know more for sure next year when I bring our stuff in.*


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## Butterfly (Apr 13, 2018)

Colleen said:


> Holy Moley!!! How do you do that???? Do you only make a certain amount that you can do that?? I thought EVERYONE had to file...no matter how much or little you make.
> 
> Yes, we only file a 1040 and don't have any itemized deductions. I thought it was mandatory to have taxes taken out of SS.
> 
> Here's a quote from Turbotax web: If you are married and file a joint return with a spouse who is also 65 or older, you must file a return if your combined gross income is $23,300 or more.



Below is a link to the IRS interactive questionnaire about "do I have to file a tax return."  It is anonymous and only takes a minute or two to get your question answered.  Social Security income is treated differently then ordinary income.  But you WILL have to file for 2017 to get your withholding back.

https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/do-i-need-to-file-a-tax-return


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## Colleen (Apr 13, 2018)

Butterfly said:


> Below is a link to the IRS interactive questionnaire about "do I have to file a tax return."  It is anonymous and only takes a minute or two to get your question answered.  Social Security income is treated differently then ordinary income.  But you WILL have to file for 2017 to get your withholding back.
> 
> https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/do-i-need-to-file-a-tax-return



Thanks for the link! I'll check it out. We already filed for 2017 and received our return


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## Colleen (Apr 14, 2018)

Butterfly...used the link you gave and, unfortunately, we do not qualify to NOT file. We make too much money...HA!
 I used 2017 figures so nothing will change with those figures for next year either. I don't know how rkunsaw does not file and Marie5656 might not have to file either! I'm confused.


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## twinkles (Apr 14, 2018)

i havent filed income  tax return in years they told me i didnt  have to file that i didnt make enough


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## Butterfly (Apr 14, 2018)

Colleen said:


> Butterfly...used the link you gave and, unfortunately, we do not qualify to NOT file. We make too much money...HA!
> I used 2017 figures so nothing will change with those figures for next year either. I don't know how rkunsaw does not file and Marie5656 might not have to file either! I'm confused.



You might want to run the thing again.  I made the mistake the first time through of entering my social security into the first "income" place; however, I should have entered there only income that is NOT social security.  There is a box later on which asks for your social security income.  As I said earlier, social security is treated differently for taxable purposes than regular income. 

I have not had to file since I retired -- and the first few years I consulted with my old CPA just to make sure.  I do not know anyone who has only social security income who is required to file a tax return, unless they have taken a large distribution from an IRA.  And since you are getting all your withholding back, I wonder why you have to file.


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## Colleen (Apr 14, 2018)

Butterfly said:


> You might want to run the thing again.  I made the mistake the first time through of entering my social security into the first "income" place; however, I should have entered there only income that is NOT social security.  There is a box later on which asks for your social security income.  As I said earlier, social security is treated differently for taxable purposes than regular income.
> 
> I have not had to file since I retired -- and the first few years I consulted with my old CPA just to make sure.  I do not know anyone who has only social security income who is required to file a tax return, unless they have taken a large distribution from an IRA.  And since you are getting all your withholding back, I wonder why you have to file.




I ran the figures again and it still tells me we need to file. We have a pension for both of us so that's what puts us over the top and our SS is much more than the max ($23,300) to not file. Would be nice not to file but......


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## rkunsaw (Apr 15, 2018)

Colleen, If you don't owe taxes you don't have to file. From your post I assumed you were only filing to get back what you had paid in. If that is the case the you can quit having anything withheld and you won't have to file to get it back.


In my case we are living on our pensions and SS and still have extra to invest. If I ever have to start cashing in my investments then I will have to pay taxes on that


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## Colleen (Apr 15, 2018)

rkunsaw said:


> Colleen, If you don't owe taxes you don't have to file. From your post I assumed you were only filing to get back what you had paid in. If that is the case the you can quit having anything withheld and you won't have to file to get it back.
> 
> 
> In my case we are living on our pensions and SS and still have extra to invest. If I ever have to start cashing in my investments then I will have to pay taxes on that



According to IRS, our tax due would be $890 for 2017. Since we had $3300 taken out between our pension and SS, we get a refund for the difference. My husband's pension sends us a letter every January and says if we are receiving more than $1700/mo., we should be withholding at least 10%, so we do.

Next tax year, I'm going to consult a tax consultant to make sure what the "new" rules are going to be.


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