Since "AGI" (Adjusted Gross Income) includes the taxable portion of SS, it's better to show combinations of Other Income and SS where the maximum 85% of the SS benefit becomes taxable. Several of the posts in this old thread show examples and also formulas for determining that amount. I see that RMWinCalifornia, the original poster, hasn't frequented the forum for several months. But other members may find the following graphical representation a worthwhile addition to the thread.Many websites say that "up to 85%" of Social Security retirement benefits may be taxable as income. But they don't ever say what is the threshold that hits the full 85%. Please give some examples of combinations of modified AGI $$ and Social Security $$ that reach the 85% threshold ... (underline added)
Here's the graph's source data:
Code:
Row Col A Col B Col C Formula in Column C 2 Single=1/Joint=2 1 2 3 50% threshold 25,000 32,000 =CHOOSE(C2,25000,32000) 4 85% threshold 34,000 44,000 =CHOOSE(C2,34000,44000) 5 SS benefit --Other Income--Code:
6 4,500 33,603 43,603 =IF($A6<(C$4-C$3),C$4-(0.075/0.85)*$A6,(0.425*$A6+0.5*C$3+0.35*C$4)/0.85) 7 9,000 33,206 43,206 | | | 8 12,000 34,706 42,941 | | | 9 15,000 36,206 44,441 | | | 10 18,000 37,706 45,941 | | | 11 21,000 39,206 47,441 | | | 12 24,000 40,706 48,941 | | | 13 27,000 42,206 50,441 | | | 14 30,000 43,706 51,941 | | | 15 33,000 45,206 53,441 | | | 16 36,000 46,706 54,941 | | | 17 39,000 48,206 56,441 | | | 18 42,000 49,706 57,941 | | | 19 45,000 51,206 59,441 | | | 20 48,000 52,706 60,941 | | | 21 51,000 54,206 62,441 | | | 22 54,000 55,706 63,941 | | | 23 57,000 57,206 65,441 | | | 24 60,000 58,706 66,941 | | | 25 63,000 68,441 | | | 26 66,000 69,941 | | | 27 69,000 71,441 | | | 28 72,000 72,941 | | | 29 75,000 74,441 | | | 30 78,000 75,941 | | | 31 81,000 77,441 | | | 32 84,000 78,941 | | | 33 87,000 80,441 | | | 34 90,000 81,941 | | | 35 93,000 83,441 v v v 36 96,000 84,941 =IF($A36<(C$4-C$3),C$4-(0.075/0.85)*$A36,(0.425*$A36+0.5*C$3+0.35*C$4)/0.85)Statistics: Posted by #Cruncher — Tue Feb 03, 2026 1:31 pm — Replies 29 — Views 5852