First State CPAs and Associates

6 hours ago

Top financial moves in the last few months of the year...GO ... See MoreSee Less

First State CPAs and Associates

1 day ago

𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝘆 𝗜𝗥𝗔 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝘅𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲?

Yes, IRA withdrawals can increase what the IRS calls your provisional income, which determines how much of your Social Security benefits become taxable.

The IRS calculates provisional income using:
• Your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI)
• Tax-exempt interest
• 50% of your Social Security benefits

Depending on that total, your Social Security falls into one of three ranges: none of your benefits are taxable, up to 50% can be taxable, or up to 85% can be taxable.

But that doesn't mean you're paying an 85% tax rate on Social Security. Instead, up to 85% of the benefits you received could be included in your taxable income and then taxed at your ordinary income tax rate.

𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘭: Even tax-exempt interest counts in this calculation.

For example, interest from municipal bonds may not be taxable itself, but the IRS still adds it when calculating your provisional income. That additional income could push you across a threshold where a larger portion of your Social Security becomes taxable.

The same thing can happen when you take additional taxable withdrawals from a Traditional IRA. A larger withdrawal raises your AGI, which can raise your provisional income and potentially make more of your Social Security taxable too.

𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘱𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦? ... See MoreSee Less