Q. I retired from the Postal Service last year and, when I received my CSA 1099R, it has my FERS annuity and my special retirement supplement taxable amount combined. If the supplement is taxed like Social Security, which is different from my FERS annuity, why are they combined on my CSA 1099R, and how do I separate the two on my tax Form 1040A? My gross income will be over $44,000 and, from what I have been reading, at that amount, I should only be taxed on 85 percent of my supplement. Is this correct?
A. While the special retirement supplement resembles a Social Security benefit, it is paid out of the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund and is taxable as ordinary income, just like your annuity.