YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY
By DAVID BROWN

With tax season well on its way, millions of taxpayers are busy gathering all the forms and documents needed to file Federal, state and local tax returns. It is important to remember that some people who receive Social Security may have to pay taxes on a portion of their benefits. For them, a Social Security Benefit Statement (Form SSA-1099) is an important tax document.

Mr. Brown is District Manager of the Social Security Administration's Downtown New York Office.

The SSA-1099s for tax year 2006 were all automatically mailed to beneficiaries by Jan. 31. If you or someone you know who receives Social Security has not yet received a Form SSA-1099 for 2006, you can request a replacement on-line at www.socialsecurity.gov.

The SSA-1099 shows the total amount of benefits received in the previous year and is used to find out if any benefits are subject to tax, and to complete a Federal income tax return. Basically, the Federal tax laws about Social Security benefits state that:

- Up to 50 percent of Social Security benefits may be subject to income tax for individuals with a combined income between $25,000 and $34,000, or for couples with a combined income between $32,000 and $44,000; and

- Up to 85 percent of Social Security benefits may be subject to income tax for individuals with a combined income above $34,000, or for couples with a combined income above $44,000. (Note: "Combined income" means adjusted gross income, plus nontaxable interest, plus one-half of Social Security benefits.)

Less than a third of current Social Security beneficiaries have incomes that exceed the thresholds, requiring them to pay taxes on a portion of their Social Security benefits. For more information on taxation of Social Security benefits, call the IRS's toll-free telephone number, 1-800-829-3676 and ask for Publication 554, Older Americans' Tax Guide. The publication is also available from the IRS Web site at www.irs.gov .

For more information about Social Security, or to request a replacement SSA-1099, visit www.socialsecurity.gov. Or you can call Social Security's toll-free number, 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) and ask for a replacement SSA-1099 over the phone.