This New Trump Tax Break Has a Hidden Catch Social Security Retirees Need to Know.

One of President Trump’s most popular campaign promises was to eliminate taxes on Social Security benefits. That promise never made it into law, but we got a different change with a similar impact: a new tax deduction for senior citizens (age 65 and older).

That deduction is currently $6,000 for single filers and $12,000 for married couples filing jointly. Even better, instead of replacing an existing $2,000 deduction for single seniors and $3,200 for married seniors, the new deduction adds to it. That’s a total of $8,000 in deductions for single seniors or $15,200 for a married couple who are both 65 or older. And that’s over and above the standard deduction that’s available to all taxpayers.

Combined, that’s enough to offset all taxes on Social Security benefits for 88% of the seniors who receive them.

But there’s a hidden catch to this windfall that seniors need to know about, especially those with retirement income outside of Social Security.

Not for everyone

If you have retirement income beyond your monthly Social Security benefit, you might not get the full benefit of this deduction. In fact, you might not get any deduction at all.

The deduction begins to phase out for seniors with incomes above $75,000 for single filers and $150,000 for married couples filing jointly. The deduction is reduced by 6% of a taxpayer’s Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) that exceeds that threshold, phasing out completely for seniors with annual incomes of $175,000 for single filers and $250,000 for married couples filing jointly.

So, if you’re a married couple, both over 65, with $200,000 in MAGI, you would be $50,000 over the threshold. $50,000 times 6% is $3,000, so you’d get a $9,000 deduction instead of the full $12,000.