Is SSDI taxable if I have rental income?

jules

I've received SSDI for a number of years now. I have a small rental home, and monthly rental income from it. I live with my parents, who are seniors, and the income is shared with them. But I file taxes separately from my parents, who are married. Is my SSDI taxable? I see it's taxable if total income is over a certain amount, but I haven't seen any answers on rental income. I wouldn't consider it a business. I've been paying taxes all these years on the SSDI due to also having rental income, and I'm still not sure if it should be taxable.

Henry

Hi Rowen, rental income is taken into consideration when calculating the portion of your Social Security benefits that are taxable. You can see this by reviewing the Social Security Benefits Worksheet in the Form 1040 instructions (see pg 32). The instructions for line 3 of that worksheet ask you to account for the amount on line 8 of Form 1040. Line 8 is where rental income from Schedule 1, line 5 is included.

Your benefits will generally be taxable if the total of (1) one-half of your benefits, plus (2) all of your other income, including rental income, is greater than the base amount for your filing status. If you are single, then your base amount is $25,000.

You can use the following IRS tool to help you determine the taxable amount of the benefits: Are my Social Security or railroad retirement tier I benefits taxable?