Income-Social Security Benefits

This lesson will help you assist taxpayers who have Social Security and equivalent railroad retirement

benefits. These benefits may or may not be taxable.

The intake and interview sheet lists Social Security and Railroad Retirement Benefits in the Income section.

Ask the taxpayer about the receipt of either of these benefits. The Social Security Administration issues Form

SSA-1099, Social Security Benefit Statement, to Social Security benefit recipients. The Railroad Retirement

Board issues Form RRB-1099, Payments by the Railroad Retirement Board, and Form RRB-1099-R,

Annuities or Pensions by the Railroad Retirement Board.

See Publication 575, Pension and Annuity Income, and Publication 915,

Social Security and Equivalent Railroad Retirement Benefits, for additional information on the topics discussed in this lesson.

At the end of this lesson, using your resource materials, you will be able to:

• Determine the taxable portion of Social Security and railroad retirement benefits

• Determine the most advantageous method of reporting lump-sum Social Security benefits

• Report Social Security and railroad retirement benefits on the tax return