Q. I will be retiring in June and am trying to compute the number of federal tax exemptions, etc., that I take. I looked through my notes from my last federal retirement planning class and saw that I jotted down that the amount withheld for survivor annuity from one’s monthly pension is a pretax item. I thought it would be smart to obtain verification or validation rather than assume I heard and recorded this correctly. If the survivor annuity withheld is subject to federal income tax at the time of withholding, then the portion withheld should be nontaxable when the…
Browsing: taxes
Q. I recently started working part time. I requested taxes be deducted from my payroll. I note that I am being taxed old age, survivors and disability insurance. Is it a mandatory tax if I’m already retired? A. Yes. Anyone who has earnings from wages or self-employment is required to pay that tax, even if he or she is already receiving a Social Security benefit.
Q. I am a CSRS employee who has worked for the government for 40 years. I also have 27 credits for Social Security. I work for my husband as an accountant for free. If I start charging him and take payments under a 1099, how many credits do I have to earn to get Social Security payments on top of my CSRS benefit when retire? A. In 2013, you’d need to earn $1,160 to get one Social Security credit, $4,640 to earn four credits. It would take you over three years to collect the 40 credits you’d need to be entitled to a…
Q. I was just told by my human resources specialist that when pretax Federal Employees Health Benefits premiums reduce my taxable income, they also reduce my salary for the computation of high-3 average salary for retirement. Is this true? It doesn’t sound right to me, and I’ve never heard such a thing. A. You haven’t heard such a thing because it isn’t true. Your high-3 is based on your highest average pay rates during any three consecutive years before any deductions are taken from that pay.
Q. I paid Social Security tax on my “SS statement earnings record,” from 1963 to 1974, and in 1985. I have 27 out of the 40 credits. My retirement number is 66 (I will turn 66 in August). I am still employed. Will I be eligible for Social Security retirement pay (no windfall elimination provision), even though still employed through this year? A. I’m assuming that you are a CSRS employee. If so, you are subject to the windfall elimination provision. However, since you don’t have 40 credits under Social Security, you won’t be eligible for a Social Security benefit.…
Q. My agency committed an error by moving me from CSRS to FERS. After 18 months and senatorial support, it was finally resolved; the agency satisfied the debt; and I retired Dec. 29. I have since received W2-Cs for past three years. I am looking at a decrease of approximately $17,000 in Social Security taxes withheld for those three years. Those monies were pulled back and put into my CSRS account. If the Internal Revenue Service determines that there is now a tax liability after filing my amended returns, can I make an appeal to the Office of Personnel Management…
Q. I am a 52-year-old FERS clerk working for the Postal Service. I was been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in November 2005. I am wondering about a disability retirement and how the money I am paid, if approved, is taxed or not? A. The Internal Revenue Service considers CSRS and FERS disability annuities taxable income. If you were also approved for a Social Security disability benefit and judged by them to be totally disabled for any gainful employment, then your benefits would be tax-free.
Q. This year’s tax (2012) is the first I will file as a FERS retiree. I understand a portion of my retiree pay is a return of contributions and is tax-free. How do I report this? Will it be identified on my 1099? A. The 1099 form that the Office of Personnel Management sends you will show the amount of your retirement contributions. Plug that number into the worksheet you’ll find in Internal Revenue Service Publication 721, which you can access at www.irs.gov.
Q. Years ago, at a retirement seminar, an instructor said that if a retiring employee has a debilitating or terminal illness, they can retire and be paid a lump sum equal to all of the payments they made into CSRS. There is a reduction to the annuity for this payment. Any credence to the statement? If it is true, is the lump sum taxable immediately? If taxable, does the retiree get to take a 10 percent tax write-off for each year he collects an annuity, as regular retirees? A. What you are referring to is the alternative form of annuity.…
Q. I have been reassigned to a position in Atlanta from Albuquerque, N.M. This move is permanent. Do I need a SF 52 prepared to change my duty station and locality pay? Do I need a SF 52 to change my taxes and health insurance? This position is considered virtual. A. All personnel actions must be documented with a Standard Form 52. It will record where you are now, your new duty station and the rate of pay at each. There is no place on the SF 52 to record changes in taxes or health insurance. When your official personnel…