Some people must pay taxes on their Social Security benefits. If you get Social Security, you should receive a Form SSA-1099, Social Security Benefit Statement, by early February. The form shows the amount of benefits you received in 2012.

Here are five tips from the IRS to help you determine if your benefits are taxable:

1. The amount of your income and your filing status affect whether you must pay taxes on your Social Security.
2. If Social Security was your only income in 2012, your benefits are probably not taxable. You also may not need to file a federal income tax return.
3. If you received income from other sources, then you may have to pay taxes on your benefits.
4. You can follow these two quick steps to see if your benefits are taxable:
   • Add one-half of the Social Security benefits you received to all your other income, including tax-exempt interest. Tax-exempt interest includes interest from state and municipal bonds.
   • Next, compare this total to the ‘base amount’ for your filing status. If the total is more than your base amount, then some of your benefits may be taxable.

     The three 2012 base amounts are:

     $25,000 for single, head of household, qualifying widow or widower with a dependent child or married individuals filing separately who did not live with their spouse at any time during the year;

     $32,000 for married couples filing jointly; and

     $0 for married persons filing separately who lived together at any time during the year.

5. If you use IRS e-file to prepare and file your tax return, the tax software will figure your taxable benefits for you. If you file a paper return, you can use the Interactive Tax Assistant tool on the IRS website to check if your benefits are taxable. The ITA is a resource that can help answer tax law questions. There also is a worksheet in the instructions for Form 1040 or 1040A that you can use to figure your taxable benefits.

For more information on the taxability of Social Security benefits, see IRS Publication 915, Social Security and Equivalent Railroad Retirement Benefits. You can get a copy of this booklet on IRS.gov or by calling 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676).

Additional IRS Resources:

• IRS Free File
• E-file Options
• Interactive Tax Assistant tool
• Publication 915, Social Security and Equivalent Railroad Retirement Benefits
• Tax Topic 423 – Social Security and Equivalent Railroad Retirement Benefits

New IRS YouTube Video – How to Check on Your Refund

With the April 15 tax filing deadline approaching, the Internal Revenue Service created a new YouTube video to provide taxpayers more details and tips to check on their tax refund.

The new video How to Use the Where’s My Refund? Tool offers in-depth information about how the redesigned “Where’s My Refund” tool on IRS.gov works. The IRS’s previous refund YouTube video When Will I Get My Refund? has already received more than 750,000 views. The IRS expects this video will also be a helpful resource for taxpayers.

The IRS issues more than nine out of 10 refunds to taxpayers in less than 21 days. Even though the IRS issues most refunds in less than 21 days, some tax returns will require additional review and take longer.

The refund video released today is one of several YouTube videos the IRS created to help taxpayers navigate this year’s filing season. Other top videos that help people prepare their tax returns or resolve tax problems include:

W-2 Missing? – English | Spanish | ASL
How to Request a Copy of Your Tax Return – English | Spanish | ASL
Do Your Taxes for Free: Taxes Made Less Taxing – English | Spanish
Do It Yourself Free Tax Preparation – English | ASL
Are You a Victim of Identity Theft? – English | Spanish | ASL
Protect Yourself from Identity Theft – English | Spanish | ASL
Phishing-Malware – English | Spanish | ASL
The IRS YouTube channels offer short, informative videos in English, American Sign Language and other languages. IRS currently has more than 100 videos, which already have more than 4 million views.

Additional videos to help people with the tax season are available on the “tax tips” playlist at IRS – YouTube.