Most Social Safety recipients will be capable to keep away from paying taxes on their advantages.
Individuals spend years paying into the Social Safety system by way of payroll taxes. It is a means of serving to to safe considerably of a monetary security web in your retirement years whenever you start receiving advantages. Even in case you’re lucky sufficient to not want it, it is a well-earned plus after a long time of labor and contributions.
Sadly, like most different earnings sources in America, whenever you obtain your Social Safety funds, you possibly can doubtlessly owe taxes on them. The excellent news is that the majority states do not tax Social Safety advantages. The unhealthy information is that this nonetheless leaves others that do. As of October 2025, 41 states don’t tax Social Safety.
Picture supply: Getty Pictures.
Which states do not tax Social Safety advantages?
The next 41 states, together with Washington, D.C., at the moment don’t tax Social Safety advantages:
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Virginia
- Washington
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Which states tax Social Safety advantages?
The next 9 states do have Social Safety taxes in some kind:
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Minnesota
- Montana
- New Mexico
- Rhode Island
- Utah
- Vermont
- West Virginia
Previously 5 years, 4 states have eradicated their Social Safety tax, so there’s nonetheless hope for individuals who stay in a state with the tax. For instance, West Virginians will not must pay taxes on advantages starting in 2026.
You could possibly nonetheless owe federal taxes in your Social Safety examine
Sadly, your state’s tax-free standing does not exempt you from federal taxes in your Social Safety examine. Fortunately, most individuals will not pay something; nevertheless, there are nonetheless tens of millions who will. To find out in case you’ll be subjected to federal taxes in your Social Safety advantages, the IRS considers your mixed earnings, which incorporates the next:
For instance, in case your AGI is $15,000, you obtain $20,000 yearly from Social Safety, and you’ve got $200 in nontaxable curiosity, your mixed earnings could be $25,200 ($15,000 + $10,000 + $200). After calculating your mixed earnings, the next ranges are used to find out how a lot of your advantages are eligible to be taxed:
Proportion of Taxable Advantages Added to Earnings
Submitting Single
Married, Submitting Collectively
0%
Lower than $25,000
Lower than $32,000
As much as 50%
$25,000 to $34,000
$32,000 to $44,000
As much as 85%
Greater than $34,000
Greater than $44,000
Supply: IRS.
To see it in motion, let’s assume you obtain $20,000 yearly in advantages, and 50% is eligible to be taxed. On this scenario, as much as $10,000 could be added to every other earnings you will have after which taxed at your regular earnings tax fee. It is useful to understand how the federal tax works, so you do not mistakenly assume that the IRS goes to take 50% or 85% of your advantages.
Some retirees might see a bigger tax deduction
The Trump administration’s “large, stunning invoice” included a provision that gives a brief tax deduction for eligible individuals age 65 and older. Single filers are eligible for as much as $6,000, whereas {couples} submitting collectively are eligible for as much as $12,000.
To qualify for the total $6,000 deduction, single filers will need to have a modified adjusted gross earnings (MAGI) beneath $75,000. In case your MAGI is between $75,000 and $175,000, you are eligible for a lowered deduction, with the quantity relying on the place your earnings falls within the vary.
{Couples} submitting collectively will need to have a MAGI beneath $150,000 to qualify for the total $12,000. Any couple with a MAGI between $150,000 and $250,000 is eligible for the lowered deduction.
This deduction will stay in place till 2028 and is offered even in case you take the usual deduction (which might in any other case prohibit you from itemizing your deductions).
