Pamphlet from Social Security Adm is WRONG!

[dyne]

A client came in with an official small pamphlet printed by the SSA which was mailed to her and which is WRONG!
It tries to explain the computation which determines what portion of SSA benefits are taxable but simplifies it too much and gets it WRONG! Do not be surprised if other taxpayers contact you about this.

[RitaB]

Jiminy Cricket

Do not be surprised if other taxpayers contact you about this.

This will be the one thing they actually read, too.

[FEDUKE404]

Details ?

Can you be more specific as to exactly what the error is?

(I have not seen the pamphlet - doubt if my clients would ever want to crunch those numbers!!)

Is this pamphlet available online?

FE

[dyne]

I wish I had make a copy of the paragraph but did not. It said something to the effect that if a person had more than $25,000 of income (for a single person) that their social security benefits would be taxable. It SHOULD have said that if HALF of your social security benefits PLUS all other taxable income exeeds $25,000 for a single person or $32,000 for a married couple filing joint then a PORTION of the social security benefits would be taxable. I concluded that I would be wasting my time to contact the SSA as I have written them TWICE before asking them to issue a SHORTER form of the SSA-1099 and they ignored me.

[Jiggers]

The 1099SSA references that. But you have to complete the little chart that does the basic calculation and you use 1/2 of your SS benefits plus other income and tax-exempt interest. If it exceeds $25,000/$32,000, then you have taxable SS.

The 1099SSA has it correct.

[Koss]

SSA Publication No. 05-10035

Is this the pamphlet?

http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10035.pdf

Take a look at page 14. It's definitely an oversimplified explanation. But there's an asterisk, with a notation at the bottom of the page, that provides a definition of the phrase "combined income."

It is poorly written, but it may be technically correct.

BMK

[dyne]

NO, the pamphlet referenced by KOSS is NOT the same pamphlet which has the
error. His pamphlet is CORRECT! The pamphlet which is wrong was mailed to a
taxpayer a few days ago and is clearly WRONG! It is small: perhaps 6 x 9 inches or
thereabouts. I am afraid that MILLIONS of the wrong phamphlets might have been
mailed out.