Taxes on a Lump Sum Social Security Disability Payment

Did you just receive a Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) award with a lump sum payment? While it is a relief to finally get your benefits, it brings the question of how much tax you might owe on it. This money is not tax-free, but whether you will have to pay tax depends on your income, deductions, and several other factors. The IRS provides a worksheet to determine how much you will owe.

Couple receiving tax advice.
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Applying for SSDI benefits and waiting for a judgment can be a long process, sometimes taking months or years. It generally takes 3-5 months. Many people who are awarded SSDI benefits receive a lump-sum payment to cover back pay for the months between their official date of disability onset and when they were finally awarded benefits. Some of that big check, however, may be going back to Uncle Sam as taxes. Income tax is not automatically withheld, so you do not want a nasty surprise a few months down the road.

Half of Your SSDI Benefits Are Taxable Each Year

Many people who rely on monthly social security disability payment as their sole source of income won't owe taxes. However, reporting the lump sum as income for one tax year can result in owing taxes. You could end up paying more than you need to pay if you don't get the right advice.

If you make between $25,000 and $34,000 each year, you may have to pay income tax on up t0 50% of your benefits, and if you made more than $34,000, you could owe taxes on up to 85% of your benefits. A federal income tax return must be filed if gross income is over a certain amount per IRS rules," Gada says. Whether you owe tax due to the lump sum payment will depend on how much you receive and how much income you had during the tax years the payment covered.

Use IRS Publication 915 Worksheets to Figure Your Tax

It may be to your advantage to claim all of the lump sum in the current tax year or to use the IRS worksheets to spread it over previous tax years. If you choose to spread it over previous tax year, you won't need to amend the tax returns from those years. You can figure out which is to your advantage using a worksheet filed with your current tax return. You will pay the lesser amount as determined by the worksheet.

If you received a lump-sum SSDI payment, you will see the amount included in Box 3 of the Form SSA-1099 received from the Social Security Administration.

Worksheets provided in IRS Publication 915 can be used to determine the taxable portion of a retroactive SSDI payment.

These calculations are best handled with tax preparation software or by using a tax professional to prepare your return.

6 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
  1. Social Security Administration. What you should know before you apply for social security disability benefits.

  2. Internal Revenue Services. Are social security benefits taxable?

  3. Social Security Administration. Income taxes and your social security benefit.

  4. Internal Revenue Service. Back payments.

  5. Internal Revenue Service. About publication 915, social security and equivalent railroad retirement benefits.

  6. Social Security Administration. Get your social security benefit statement (SSA-1099).

By Carol Eustice
Carol Eustice is a writer covering arthritis and chronic illness, who herself has been diagnosed with both rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis.