When Survivor Benefits Are Taxable
Survivor benefits are monthly payments to eligible family members of someone who worked and paid Social Security taxes before they died. Those family members can include a spouse, divorced spouse, child, or dependent parent of the worker.
Social Security benefits include monthly survivor benefits, so the same tax rules apply. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a separate program, and it isn’t taxable.
Provisional income (sometimes called combined income) is your modified adjusted gross income plus half of your benefits. Your benefits become taxable only when it’s above the limit for your filing status.
A few terms help here:
- Adjusted gross income (AGI) is your total income minus certain adjustments allowed by the IRS.
- Modified AGI (MAGI) is your AGI with a few items added back for this calculation.
- Filing status is the category you file under, such as single or married filing jointly.
- Base amount is the provisional income limit for your filing status where benefits start to become taxable.
If you’re new to these ideas, it can help to learn what taxable income is first.
Surviving Spouses
If you’re a surviving spouse, you add half of your survivor benefits to your other income. That total is compared to the limit for your filing status. If you remarry and file a joint return, joint filing rules require you to combine both spouses’ incomes and benefits. This applies even if your new spouse didn’t receive any benefits.
Children Receiving Survivor Benefits
The person with the legal right to survivor benefits reports them as income. Benefits paid for a child count as the child’s, even if the check comes in your name. Children’s benefits should not be included on the parent or guardian’s return.
You report only survivor benefits you receive for yourself. To see whether the child’s benefits are taxable to them, add half of the child’s benefits to the child’s other income.
Survivor Benefits Taxable Income Thresholds
Once provisional income is above the base amount, up to 50% of your benefits can be taxable. Above a second, higher limit, up to 85% can be taxable. These limits come from IRS Publication 915.
| Filing status | Up to 50% taxable above | Up to 85% taxable above |
|---|---|---|
| Single, head of household, or qualifying surviving spouse | $25,000 | $34,000 |
| Married filing separately, lived apart all year | $25,000 | $34,000 |
| Married filing jointly | $32,000 | $44,000 |
| Married filing separately, lived together at any time | $0 | $0 |
The percentage is a cap on the taxable share of your benefits. To estimate your exact amount, learn how much is taxable.
Example of a Surviving Spouse With No Taxable Benefits
Say you’re a widow filing as single. You received $18,000 in survivor benefits and $10,000 from a pension.
- Half of your benefits is $9,000, so your provisional income is $10,000 + $9,000 = $19,000.
- That’s below the $25,000 base amount for single filers.
None of your survivor benefits are taxable in this example.
How to Report Survivor Benefits
Each year, you get Form SSA-1099 by early February. It shows the benefits you received the year before. You report them on Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR.
If your benefits are taxable, you can ask for tax to be withheld by filing Form W-4V. Otherwise, you can make estimated tax payments during the year.
Did you get a lump-sum payment covering earlier years? A special lump-sum election discussed in IRS Publication 915 may lower the taxable amount.
If survivor benefits are your only income, you may not be required to file a return. Find out whether you need to file.
