Are Social Security Disability Benefits Taxable?

The majority of people don't pay taxes on their Social Security disability benefits. This is usually true for people who have income in addition to disability benefits and those who don't.

Overall, about a third of Social Security disability insurance (SSDI) recipients have to pay taxes on part of their benefits because they have income from other sources.

Is Social Security Disability Taxable?

Yes, some people have to pay federal taxes on their SSDI benefits.

People who have to pay federal taxes on their SSDI benefits owe taxes on part of their benefits because they have another source of substantial income, or their spouse does. If you're required to file a tax return, you claim a portion of your Social Security disability benefits on your 1040 form. Below, we'll go into detail about how this works.

Most states don't tax disability benefits at all, but about ten states tax Social Security benefits for recipients with a large amount of other income. For information on whether your state taxes Social Security benefits, see our article on which states tax disability benefits.

Is SSI Taxable?

No, recipients of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) don't have to pay federal or state taxes on their benefits, because SSI is not taxable.

How Much of Your Social Security Benefits Are Taxed?

The portion of SSDI benefits that you'll have to pay taxes on depends on how much other income you have. To calculate your taxes, first the IRS determines your "combined income." Also called your provisional income, your combined income is one-half of the total Social Security you received during the year plus the following:

• the rest of your adjusted gross income
• any deductions you took for any student loan interest, and
• any interest you received that was tax-exempt (for example, interest you earned from tax-exempt bonds).

Income Thresholds for Taxability of Benefits

If you file your taxes as an individual, and your combined income is more than $25,000 per year but less than $34,000, up to half the value of your Social Security benefits is taxable.

If you're married and you file your taxes jointly, you can have a combined income of up to $32,000 before having to pay taxes on up to half of your benefits.

If your combined income is higher, a bigger portion of your benefits is taxable. If you're single and you make more than $34,000 (or married and make more than $44,000), up to 85% of your benefits could be taxed. Here's a chart showing the base amounts and how much of your benefits might be taxable.

Estimating how much of your Social Security disability benefits are taxable can be complicated. The IRS has a Social Security benefit tax estimator you can try. You'll need information about your other income, income adjustments, and the annual amount of SSDI benefits you receive.

The fact that a portion of your SSDI benefits may be taxable doesn't mean you'll pay 50% or 85% of your benefits in taxes. It just means that 50% of your benefits, or 85% of your benefits if you're in the higher income bracket, may subject to taxation at your personal income tax rates (more on this below).

Deductions and Tax Credits Can Lower Your Taxable Income

The above discussion is only about how much of your disability benefit may be taxable. After determining how much of your benefit is taxable, you're allowed to take various tax deductions and tax credits to lower your tax bill.

For instance, everyone under 65 is allowed a standard deduction of $15,000 per year (or $30,000 for married couples) in 2025. If you're blind, you get a higher standard deduction. (Learn more in our article on tax deductions for people with disabilities.) You may also be allowed to take tax credits such as the Credit for the Elderly and Disabled or the Earned Income Tax Credit to lower your taxable income.

If your income is low enough, these deductions and credits could lower your taxable income, and your tax bill, to zero.

At What Rate Are Your Disability Benefits Taxed?

If part of your disability benefits is taxable—because your income is higher than the limits listed above—and your tax deductions and tax credits don't wipe out your taxable income, your income and benefits will be taxed at your personal income tax rate. For example, if you're single and your combined income is fairly low, you might pay a tax rate of 10-12%. People with higher income might pay taxes of 22%-24%.

How Much of Your Benefits Are Taxed If You're Married but File Separately?

If you're married but you and your spouse file a separate tax return, you're likely to have to pay taxes on part of your benefits. How much depends are whether you still live with your spouse.

If you lived with your spouse at any time during the year, you'll pay taxes on up to 85% of your Social Security benefits, regardless of the amount of combined income you have.

If you lived apart the whole year, you're treated as a single person for the purpose of Social Security taxation. In other words, if your combined income is more than $25,000 per year but less than $34,000, you'll pay federal taxes on up to 50% of your Social Security benefits. If your combined income is more than $34,000 a year, you'll pay federal taxes on up to 85% of your benefits.

Here's a chart for spouses who are married but file separately, showing the base amounts and how much of your benefits might be taxable.

Is SSI or SSDI Back Pay Taxed?

SSI back pay is not federally taxable. SSDI back pay is a different story.

If you receive a lump-sum payment for retroactive benefits and/or back payments of SSDI, you could have to pay taxes on this amount all in one year, and your tax rate might be higher than usual because of receiving the large lump sum. This could amount to a big tax bill.

Luckily, if part of your backpay was for monthly benefits from an earlier tax year, you should be able to apply the income to an earlier year, if it would lower your tax bill. For the details, read our article on how Social Security disability backpay is taxed.

If you find yourself in this situation, you should contact a CPA or an attorney who is familiar with tax law and Social Security disability, as it's fairly complicated.

How Do You Pay Taxes on Your Disability Benefits?

If you do owe taxes on your benefits, the easiest way to pay the taxes is when you receive your benefits. You can ask the Social Security Administration (SSA) to withhold federal taxes from each of your monthly payments. To request that the SSA withhold some of your SSDI benefits to pay your taxes throughout the year, you can submit IRS Form W-4V to your local office by mail or fax. Or, if you or your spouse has self-employment income, you may want to make quarterly estimated tax payments.

How Do You Report Your Disability Benefits for Tax Purposes?

On IRS Form 1040, first, you report the full amount of your Social Security benefits on line 6a.

You can find the amount of Social Security benefits on the Form SSA-1099, Social Security Benefit Statement, that Social Security sends you in January. If you misplaced Form SSA-1099, you can get an instant replacement by logging in to your Social Security account. Once you log in, click "Replace Your Tax Form SSA-1099." Then choose the previous year and click "Download."

Next, you report the taxable amount of your benefits on line 6b. To calculate the taxable amount of your benefits (which will be between 0% and 85% of your benefits), use the IRS's interactive tax assistant.