None of your Social Security is federally taxed while your provisional income stays at or below $25,000 (single) or $32,000 (married filing jointly). Between those figures and $34,000 / $44,000, up to 50% of benefits become taxable; above the upper figure, up to 85% is taxable. Provisional income is your other income plus one-half of your Social Security benefit.
Provisional-income thresholds (2026)
| Filing status | 0% taxable up to | Up to 85% taxable above |
|---|---|---|
| Single / head of household | $25,000 | $34,000 |
| Married filing jointly | $32,000 | $44,000 |
Provisional income = adjusted gross income (excluding Social Security) + any tax-exempt interest + one-half of the annual Social Security benefit.
Methodology
Thresholds derived by probing the IRS Publication 915 tier function (ssTaxableAmount) in QuantCalc's parity-tested federal-tax module for the provisional-income level at which the taxable share first exceeds 0% and then 50%.
Every figure on this page is computed at build time from QuantCalc's parity-tested calculation modules or a committed dataset — never hand-entered. Reference for research and planning only; not tax, legal, or investment advice.
Model this for your own numbers
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Changelog
- v2026.1 — first publication. Figures computed from the 2026 tax-constants mirror and committed datasets.
Cite this dataset
QuantCalc Research (2026). How much can I earn before my Social Security benefits are taxed in 2026?. https://quantcalc.app/answers/how-much-before-social-security-is-taxed/ (accessed <date>).
BibTeX
@misc{quantcalc2026howmuchcaniearnbeforemysocialsecurityben,
title = {How much can I earn before my Social Security benefits are taxed in 2026?},
author = {{QuantCalc Research}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://quantcalc.app/answers/how-much-before-social-security-is-taxed/},
note = {Accessed <date>}
}Machine-readable citation metadata (schema.org identifier and citation fields) is embedded in this page's JSON-LD, at the stable identifier https://quantcalc.app/answers/how-much-before-social-security-is-taxed/.