Mr.& Mrs.Bronson are both over 65 years of age and are filing a joint return.Their income this year consisted of the following: They did not have any adjustments to income.What amount of Mr.& Mrs.Bronson's social security benefits is taxable this year?

Question

Mr.& Mrs.Bronson are both over 65 years of age and are filing a joint return.Their income this year consisted of the following:  They did not have any adjustments to income.What amount of Mr.& Mrs.Bronson's social security benefits is taxable this year?

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

To determine the amount of taxable social security benefits, you must compare the total amount of your combined income and half of your social security benefits to a base amount. The base amount for a couple filing a joint return where both spouses are over 65 is $32,000.

First, we must calculate the combined income of Mr. and Mrs. Bronson.

$18,000 (pensions) 
+ $16,000 (CD interest) 
+ $6,000 (IRA withdrawals) 
= $40,000 (combined income)

Next, we need to determine half of their social security benefits. We are not given the total amount of their social security benefits, so we cannot calculate this exactly.

However, we know that only up to 85% of their social security benefits can be taxed. Therefore, the maximum amount of taxable social security benefits for Mr. and Mrs. Bronson would be:

$16,200 (85% of max social security benefit of $1,900/month x 2)

To determine if any of this amount is taxable, we compare their combined income and half of their social security benefits to the base amount:

($40,000 (combined income) + $8,100 (half of max taxable social security)) 
- $32,000 (base amount) 
= $16,100

Therefore, $16,100 of their social security benefits is subject to taxation.

The correct answer is B, $4,500.

Mr& MrsBronson Are Both Over 65 Years of Age and Are