Updated September 5, 2026. Quick answer: Only for filers at full Social Security retirement age with income under set limits. Rhode Island fully exempts Social Security below (inflation-adjusted) roughly $80,000/$100,000 in federal AGI, but there is no partial exemption above that line; the whole benefit becomes taxable.
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 Rhode Island taxes retirement income generally.
Pending, not current law: A bill to remove Rhode Island’s income limit on this exemption starting tax year 2026 has been reported in the press; this page reflects current enacted law (the income-and-age-gated exemption above), not that unconfirmed proposal.
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.
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How Rhode Island taxes Social Security benefits
| State personal income tax | Yes |
|---|---|
| Social Security treatment | Partly taxed, income-dependent |
| How it works | R.I. Gen. Laws § 44-30-12(c)(8) exempts Social Security benefits included in federal AGI only for a filer who “has attained the age used for calculating full or unreduced Social Security retirement benefits” and whose federal AGI is under $80,000 (single/HOH/MFS, base-year figure) or $100,000 (joint/qualifying widow(er), base-year figure); both figures are adjusted for inflation each year, and exceeding the line by any amount forfeits the entire exemption for that year. |
| Income threshold / phase-out | Full exemption below roughly $80,000 (single/HOH/MFS) / $100,000 (joint), inflation-adjusted, and only once the filer has reached full Social Security retirement age; no exemption at all above the threshold. |
Statute and sources
Governing citation: R.I. Gen. Laws § 44-30-12(c)(8).
Read September 5, 2026.
Related: how Rhode Island taxes retirement income generally · does Rhode Island 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.