Yeah, I got it. Blech.
Got it as well.
I thought this phrase was interesting:
The bill ensures that nearly 90% of Social Security beneficiaries will no longer pay federal income taxes on their benefits
Well, no, not exactly. What the bill does is raise the standard deduction for Seniors. And for many fixed-income folks, that increased deduction now means that they won’t pay any taxes on their income, which of course includes SS benefits. Right now 40% of those who draw SS don’t pay any taxes, so this percentage will increase. And people will understandably love this new benefit…until it goes away in 2029.
At which point, depending on who is in power, either the Republicans will extend it saying it really doesn’t cost anyting because it was always meant to be permanent or people will blame the Democrats for not extending it. Win-win for Republicans which is no doubt part of the reason they do things this way.
Oops! Turns out that letter we old folks got wasn’t totally accurate. 
Social Security letter on taxes sends confusing message, some experts say
The Social Security Administration says most won’t pay federal income taxes on their benefits. But Congress didn’t directly exempt those payments from taxes.
…
The Social Security Administration sent an email soon after saying that the landmark legislation “delivers long-awaited tax relief to millions of older Americans” and includes “a provision that eliminates federal income taxes on Social Security benefits for most beneficiaries, providing relief to individuals and couples.” But policy experts say the bill does not ax federal income taxes on Social Security benefits — though it does reduce some people’s taxes through the new deduction, which is set to expire after 2028.“There is no provision in the budget bill that directly ‘eliminates’ or even reduces taxes on Social Security benefits,” said Howard Gleckman, senior fellow at the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center.
…
The Social Security Administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday. The White House referred questions to the agency. It previously said that the bill “delivers historic tax relief to seniors, with a new tax deduction that, combined with other deductions, ensures the average Social Security beneficiary will pay zero taxes on Social Security.”
…
Oh well, the MAGAts who read the letters won’t be reading the media followups. The important thing is that trumpie is taking care of them like he said he would. 
Details don’t matter. No harm done.
And quite a few of them will be surprised.Since it doesn’t actually eliminate taxes on Social Security but instead gives an additional deduction to those over 65 a lot of SS recipients will still be paying taxes - anyone under 65, including dependent survivors and those receiving disability benefits.
Yeah, it’ll be interesting during next tax season. I am a VITA volunteer tax preparer, and most of our clients draw SS benefits. Many of them don’t pay taxes on SS because of their income level, but some do. I am somewhat ashamed to admit that I’m looking forward to explaining to our MAGA clients that taxes on SS have NOT been eliminated.
That will be delicious! Please share when the time comes.
Will these changes affect the 2025 taxes to be filed next year? I certainly hope that those that thought no taxes on tips, OT, and SS aren’t really what was promised. What is the logic of no taxes on OT anyway? John gets $80k in straight time, George gets $60k in straight time plus $20k in OT. Both make $80k- why should John pay more taxes than George? Same principle for tip exclusion.
I imagine that it, and the “no tax on tips,” are intended to be seen as bones thrown to working-class MAGA supporters (who work jobs that are paid hourly, rather than salary), and a fig leaf to make it look like the tax cuts benefit people who aren’t millionaires.
They are supposed to apply to tax years starting after 12/31/24
There isn’t any logic - it was promised to get votes. it’s very questionable who, if anyone, will be helped and by how much. It’s not exactly that there are no taxes on tips or overtime - there’s an above the line deduction for a certain amount in tips or overtime. FICA taxes will still be owed on those tips and overtime. Lots of tipped workers don’t report all their tips, and lots of them won’t save anything with this change - if the wages plus the tips you report give you such a low income that you don’t pay income tax anyway, this won’t change anything. The overtime exclusion only applys to the .5 premium part of the overtime - if your regular rate is $20/hr and you get $30 for time and a half, you’ll still owe Federal income tax on the $20 regular rate. And it only applies to overtime required by FLSA - which means people who get overtime before 40 hours* won’t be able to exclude that.
* Some states/union contracts require time and a half for more than X hours in a day even if the weekly total is below 40. Some employers only require 35 or 37.5 hours of work a week and pay “overtime” if more hours are worked.
And those of us over 65 who are not yet drawing Social Security also get the additional deduction (although most of mine will get phased out).
Heh. I was having an FB argument with some doofus who is insisting that the deduction is only on SS earnings. I listed two different cites which said exactly what you just said, and asked him to provide proof for his argument. He’s been strangely silent since then.
As my 62nd birthday is in December (first check in January 2026) today was the first day that I am able to apply for benefits. I did it online and it was very straightforward. After I was done I got an immediate email saying that my application was in process.
They seem to have gotten better recently. My husband’s 62 birthday was three months before mine, so we applied about three months apart. We got the approvals the same day.
I got my approval today, eight days later.
I just realized I wasn’t clear- the approvals weren’t the same day we applied. His approval came the same day mine did, even though he applied three months earlier.
I understood you the first time 
I’ve been meaning to start my application for SS since I turn 63 soon. This thread bump got me to TRY. While trying to create an account on either login.gov or ID.me it asks for a phone number to send a code to (voice or text). I tried voice with my VOIP landline and that doesn’t work (VOIP numbers not supported). Then I tried text with my Google Voice number and that doesn’t work either. FUCK!
I think for one of them (at least) you can verify your identity with a video call, if you can do that.Once you’ve created the account, you can use an authentication app instead of getting a code.
You can also call them on the phone. I haven’t been able to get to the online site for a couple years now, so it’s all phone and the occasional visit to an office.
If you call the phone lines as soon as possible after they open in the morning, preferably Tuesday through Friday (Monday is WAY busy). Last time I called at about 15 minutes after the phone lines opened and had to wait 20 minutes to get a live human. Answered my questions no problem.