Tax Form SSA-1099/SSA-1042S: How to Report Benefits

Each January, the Social Security Administration (SSA) mails forms necessary for filing federal income taxes. These documents, Form SSA-1099 and Form SSA-1042S, report the total benefits an individual received during the previous year to accurately report income to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). These forms report Social Security retirement, survivor, and disability benefits; they do not include Supplemental Security Income (SSI), which is not taxable.

Understanding Your Social Security Benefit Statement

The specific form you receive from the SSA depends on your residency status. U.S. citizens and residents receive Form SSA-1099, the Social Security Benefit Statement. Nonresident aliens who have received or repaid benefits are sent Form SSA-1042S.

Form SSA-1099 contains several boxes for your tax return. Box 3 shows the total gross benefits paid to you during the year, while Box 4 details any repayments you made to the SSA. The figure for tax calculations is in Box 5, which shows your net benefits for the year; this is calculated by subtracting the amount in Box 4 from the amount in Box 3. Box 6 reports any federal income tax you had voluntarily withheld from your payments throughout the year.

Form SSA-1042S provides similar information for nonresident aliens but includes details pertinent to international tax agreements. This form accounts for different tax withholding rates that may apply based on tax treaties between the United States and other countries.

Determining if Your Benefits are Taxable

Whether your Social Security benefits are taxable depends on your provisional income. To calculate this, you must add your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI), any nontaxable interest earned, and one-half of the total Social Security benefits you received for the year. Your MAGI is your adjusted gross income (AGI) from your tax return before any deduction for student loan interest or other specified deductions.

The IRS sets income thresholds that determine the taxable percentage of your benefits. For individuals filing as single, head of household, or qualifying widow(er), if your provisional income is between $25,000 and $34,000, you may have to pay tax on up to 50% of your benefits. If your provisional income is more than $34,000, up to 85% of your benefits may be taxable.

For those married and filing jointly, the thresholds are different. If your combined provisional income is between $32,000 and $44,000, you may need to pay tax on up to 50% of your benefits. If that income exceeds $44,000, up to 85% of your benefits could be subject to tax. A separate, lower threshold applies for individuals who are married filing separately and lived with their spouse at any time during the year, which often results in 85% of benefits being taxable.

Consider a single individual with an AGI of $26,000, no nontaxable interest, and $12,000 in Social Security benefits (Box 5 of SSA-1099). Their provisional income would be calculated as $26,000 (AGI) + $0 (nontaxable interest) + $6,000 (50% of benefits), totaling $32,000. Since this amount falls between the $25,000 and $34,000 threshold, a portion of their benefits would be taxable. The taxable amount is the lesser of 50% of the benefits ($6,000) or 50% of the amount by which provisional income exceeds the base amount ($32,000 – $25,000 = $7,000; 50% of $7,000 is $3,500). In this case, $3,500 would be the taxable portion of their Social Security benefits.

Reporting Benefits on Your Tax Return

Once you have determined the taxable portion of your Social Security benefits, the next step is to report these figures on your federal income tax return, Form 1040. The process involves transferring specific numbers from your SSA-1099 to the correct lines on the tax form.

You will take the total benefit amount found in Box 5 of your Form SSA-1099 and enter it on Line 6a of Form 1040. Following that, you will enter the taxable portion, which you calculated using the provisional income formula, on Line 6b.

If you chose to have federal income tax withheld from your benefits, that amount is shown in Box 6 of your SSA-1099. This withheld amount should be included with other federal income tax withholdings on the appropriate line of your Form 1040.

Handling Missing or Incorrect Forms

If you do not receive your SSA-1099 or SSA-1042S by mid-February, you can obtain a replacement. The quickest method is to access your personal “my Social Security” account through the SSA’s official website. From there, you can instantly view, download, and print a replacement form for the most recent tax year, which is typically available after February 1.

For those unable to access the online portal, a replacement can be requested over the phone. The SSA operates an automated service that allows you to request a new form be mailed to you. This option is generally available after the end of January.

Should you receive your form and find that the information is incorrect, you will need to contact the Social Security Administration directly to address any discrepancies, such as an incorrect amount of benefits received or repayments made. The SSA can review your record and, if necessary, issue a corrected Form SSA-1099 or SSA-1042S.