American actress Olivia Munn returns to surprise her fans with a sexy photo shoot that she done for the men’s magazine FHM UK for the month of June 2010. This young presenter has earned a special place among the geek guys, because besides being funny and lead a program about geek topics, is a pretty girl with a natural style that suits her very well.
Social Security Benefits - Are They Taxable?
Social security is an entitlement program designed to help Americans during their golden years. The question for many is whether the benefits they receive from the program are taxable as part of the income tax process? The answer as is so often the case with tax issues is "maybe."
Social security is often touted as a program that contributes to the national debt of the United States. This is fundamentally untrue. The program has actually brought in trillions more in tax revenues then it has every paid out. The problem is the politicians in Washington passed a law requiring the social security administration to buy US treasuries with the excess money. As a result, social security now owns trillions in US treasuries and needs to start cashing them as the baby boom generation retires and starts drawing on the program. Predictably, the government has already spent the money on other programs.
Social security is not broke yet. It will pay out for the foreseeable future and that means people will continue to get their benefits. So, are these benefits taxable? The answer depends on your overall financial situation in the year in question. Come on, you had to know it wasn't going to be easy. The rules get a bit technical, but you can do a quick calculation to figure out the answer.
Calculate the total social security benefits you get paid for the year. Now divide that number by two. Next, total up all the other income you receive regardless of whether it is taxable or not. Now add the two numbers together. If the numbers are greater than your base, then taxes must be paid.
You are probably asking yourself what a "base" is. It is an arbitrary figure that the IRS comes up with. The figure was $32,000 for couples filing jointly in 2009. It was $25,000 for single and head of household filers. Oddly, the base amount for married a couple who lived together, but filed separately, is $0. These numbers change slightly every year.
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