Updated October 29, 2026. Quick answer: Worksheet 2-2 in Publication 505 (2026) estimates how much of your social security and railroad retirement benefits will be taxable in 2026, so you can add it to line 1 of the estimated tax worksheet. It uses the same base amounts as the benefits worksheet on the return ($25,000 and $9,000 for a single filer, $32,000 and $12,000 for joint filers) and ends at 85% of benefits at most.
What this worksheet is for
The publication’s chapter 2 table sends you here to estimate your taxable social security and railroad retirement benefits for line 1 of the estimated tax worksheet. Its note says “Don’t include any social security or railroad retirement benefits in the amount on line 1 of your” estimated tax worksheet, because the taxable part is added there after this worksheet is done. The same base amount idea is in Publication 915 (2025): “$25,000 if you are single, head of household, or qualifying surviving spouse”. The 2025 return version of the calculation is on the social security benefits worksheet page.
Lines 1 to 8: building the income figure
| Line | What it asks |
|---|---|
| 1 | “Enter your expected social security and railroad retirement benefits” |
| 2 | “Enter one-half of line 1” |
| 3 | “Enter your expected total income.” The line excludes benefits, nontaxable interest income, nontaxable IRA distributions and nontaxable pension distributions. |
| 4 | “Enter your expected nontaxable interest income” |
| 5 | “Enter (as a positive amount) the total of any expected exclusions or deductions for:” savings bond interest used for higher education (Form 8815), employer-provided adoption benefits (Form 8839), foreign earned income or housing (Form 2555), and income of bona fide residents of American Samoa (Form 4563) or Puerto Rico. |
| 6 | “Add lines 2, 3, 4, and 5” |
| 7 | “Enter your expected adjustments to income. Don’t include any student loan interest deduction” |
| 8 | “Subtract line 7 from line 6. If zero or less, stop here.” |
Lines 9 to 20: the two-tier calculation
| Line | What it asks |
|---|---|
| 9 | “Enter $25,000 ($32,000 if you expect to file Married filing jointly; $0 if you expect to file Married filing separately and expect to live with your spouse at any time during the year)” |
| 10 | “Subtract line 9 from line 8. If zero or less, stop here.” |
| 11 | “Enter $9,000 ($12,000 if you expect to file Married filing jointly; $0 if you expect to file Married filing separately and expect to live with your spouse at any time during the year)” |
| 12 | “Subtract line 11 from line 10. If zero or less, enter -0-” |
| 13 | “Enter the smaller of line 10 or line 11” |
| 14 | “Enter one-half of line 13” |
| 15 | “Enter the smaller of line 2 or line 14” |
| 16 | “Multiply line 12 by 85% (0.85). If line 12 is zero, enter -0-” |
| 17 | “Add lines 15 and 16” |
| 18 | “Multiply line 1 by 85% (0.85)” |
| 19 | “Enter the smaller of line 17 or line 18” |
| 20 | “Expected taxable social security and railroad retirement benefits for the period.” |
Line 20 divides line 19 by the annualization amount from Worksheet 2-9 when you use the annualized income installment method. This page does not work the annualized columns; for a full-year estimate line 19 is the figure that carries forward.
An example with invented numbers
Illustration, not an IRS example. Computation inputs (invented): a single retiree with $20,000 of benefits and $22,000 of other income, no nontaxable interest, no listed exclusions and no adjustments.
| Line | Entry | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Expected social security and railroad retirement benefits (invented, single filer) | $20,000 |
| 2 | One-half of line 1 (computed) | $10,000 (computed) |
| 3 | Expected total income without benefits (invented) | $22,000 |
| 4 and 5 | Nontaxable interest and listed exclusions | $0 |
| 6 | Add lines 2, 3, 4 and 5 (computed) | $32,000 (computed) |
| 7 | Adjustments to income | $0 |
| 8 | Line 6 minus line 7 (computed) | $32,000 (computed) |
| 9 | Single base amount | $25,000 |
| 10 | Line 8 minus line 9 (computed) | $7,000 (computed) |
| 11 | Second amount for a single filer | $9,000 |
| 12 | Line 10 minus line 11 is below zero, so -0- | $0 |
| 13 | Smaller of line 10 and line 11 (computed) | $7,000 (computed) |
| 14 | One-half of line 13 (computed) | $3,500 (computed) |
| 15 | Smaller of line 2 and line 14 (computed) | $3,500 (computed) |
| 16 | Line 12 times 85% | $0 |
| 17 | Add lines 15 and 16 (computed) | $3,500 (computed) |
| 18 | Line 1 times 85% (computed) | $17,000 (computed) |
| 19 | Smaller of line 17 and line 18 (computed) | $3,500 (computed) |
Line 19 is $3,500. That is the expected taxable part of the benefits for the year, and it goes into the income on the estimated tax worksheet. The 85% ceiling on line 18 ($17,000) does not bind in this case.
Edition
This page reads Publication 505 (2026), Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax, “For use in 2026”, the file irs.gov served on 2026-10-29 (sha256 in the kit data). Worksheet numbers and line numbers belong to that edition, so check the number printed on the worksheet in your own copy before you follow a line reference. The base amounts on lines 9 and 11 are set by statute and are not indexed, so they are the same on the 2025 return worksheets.
Common mistakes
- Including the benefits themselves in the other income on line 3. The line excludes them.
- Leaving out nontaxable interest. Line 4 adds it back for the base amount test.
- Ignoring the married-filing-separately rule. The base amounts drop to zero if you lived with your spouse at any time during the year.
- Entering the whole benefit on the estimated tax worksheet. Only the taxable part from line 20 goes there.
Related: the social security benefits worksheet, the social security quick check, Roth conversions and social security taxation, and the Form 1040-ES estimated tax worksheet.
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Answer againSources
- Publication 505 (2026), Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p505.pdf
- Publication 915 (2025), Social Security and Equivalent Railroad Retirement Benefits: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p915.pdf
Read from the IRS documents linked above on October 29, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the account provider or the IRS is the right place to confirm anything consequential.