Skip to content
Independent money guidance
Clear Money Guide
Start here
Menu

Does Kentucky Tax Social Security? (2026)

Updated September 5, 2026. Quick answer: No. Kentucky subtracts all Social Security and equivalent railroad retirement benefits from state taxable income.

Confidence note: medium. This page is scoped to Social Security taxation specifically. For the state’s full retirement-tax picture (pensions, tax rates, estate and probate), see how Kentucky taxes retirement income generally.

How Kentucky taxes Social Security benefits

State personal income taxYes
Social Security treatmentNot taxed
How it worksKentucky Form 740 Schedule M subtracts Social Security and Social Security-equivalent U.S. Railroad Retirement Board benefits reported on federal Form 1040 line 6(b) from federal AGI, at every income level, under KRS 141.019.
Income threshold / phase-outNo income threshold or age test; full exemption at every income level.

Coordinate this with your overall retirement plan

An adviser can help weigh how much of your Social Security income actually reaches you after state tax, whether the timing of other withdrawals affects that, and how it fits the rest of your plan, but that does not replace the numbers in your own return.

Before you start, what actually happens. The form is run by Kapitalwise, our advisor-matching partner. Kapitalwise sends your details to advisers who pay for the introduction, so expect calls and texts. Clear Money Guide is paid when you submit the form, whether or not you hire anyone. The matching service is free to you and there is no obligation to hire anyone.

The Kapitalwise form opens here. You stay on this page.

What happens when you press the button

It requests contact details and phone verification by text. Nothing loads and nothing reaches Kapitalwise until you press the button. Submitting the form does not guarantee an adviser or a match. This matching form is not tax or legal advice.

Statute and sources

Governing citation: KRS 141.019.

Read September 5, 2026.

Related: how Kentucky taxes retirement income generally · does Kentucky tax Roth conversions? · Roth conversion taxes, all 51 jurisdictions.

General information drawn from each state’s own published statutes and revenue-department guidance, not legal, tax or financial advice. Figures and exemption amounts are current as of the date in the quick answer, are set by state law, and can change by future legislation; any pending bill named on this page is not yet law. This page cannot see your own return, which governs. We are not a law firm, a tax adviser, or a fiduciary, and this is not personalized advice.

See whether an adviser match is worth comparing