Josh Scandlen Podcast

Social Security benefits are subject to income tax.  There is a 'provision' in the tax code from a bill Ronald Reagan signed in 1983 making a portion of Social Security benefits subject to taxation for the first time. In 1993 Bill Clinton signed another bill making even more benefits subject to taxation. However, where it gets painful to most taxpayers, is that NEITHER of these bills were indexed for inflation!  This means more and more taxpayers are paying tax on Social Security simply because inflation is making them appear wealthier than they are.  In the 1983 bill you had to have over $32,000 of income before your any of your Social Security benefits were taxed. Guess what?  In 2018, literally 35 years later, you still need to have over $32,000 of income before your Social Security benefits are taxed. In fact, if Social Security taxation were indexed to inflation you'd need $102,000 in today's dollars to have your benefit subject to tax.  https://www.ssa.gov/OACT/ProgData/re