PolicyEngine

No tax on Social Security

See the impact of HR 904, which would eliminate federal income taxation of Social Security benefits

What HR 904 changes

Each provision of HR 904, with links to the primary source and the parameter table derived from the reform JSON.

The reform

HR 904 eliminates federal income taxation of Social Security benefits. Under current law, taxpayers whose income exceeds certain thresholds must include part of their benefits in taxable income through the formula in section 86 of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC 86) — up to 50% of benefits above a first threshold, and up to 85% above a second, higher threshold. HR 904 sets all five of the rates in that formula to zero, so no Social Security benefits are federally taxed for anyone.

How much of a benefit is taxable under current law depends on combined income — adjusted gross income plus half of Social Security benefits — against two fixed thresholds:

Combined incomeSingle filerMarried filing jointlyShare of benefits taxable
Below first threshold< $25,000< $32,0000%
Between thresholds$25,000–$34,000$32,000–$44,000Up to 50%
Above second threshold> $34,000> $44,000Up to 85%

The IRC 86 formula implements this schedule through five rates. HR 904 sets all five to zero, so the formula produces $0 of taxable benefits at every income level — the five parameters and their values under current law and HR 904 appear in the table below.

Primary sources

Parameter changes

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