--- title: "Social Security Benefits Tax" id: 72174 type: "computer_media" slug: "social-security-benefits-tax" url: "http://localhost/computer_media/social-security-benefits-tax/" markdown_url: "http://localhost/computer_media/social-security-benefits-tax.md" published_at: "2026-10-22T16:15:36+00:00" modified_at: "2026-10-22T16:15:36+00:00" author: "David Anderson" featured_image: url: "http://localhost/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/soc-1.png" excerpt: "Works through the 1991 IRS worksheet for taxable Social Security benefits, printing each line on screen and giving the amount to add to your Form 1040 income." post_tag: - name: "Downloadable" slug: "downloadable" taxonomy: "post_tag" url: "http://localhost/tag/downloadable/" - name: "TS 2068" slug: "ts2068" taxonomy: "post_tag" url: "http://localhost/tag/ts2068/" model: - name: "Timex/Sinclair 2068" slug: "ts-2068" taxonomy: "model" url: "http://localhost/model/ts-2068/" indiv: - name: "Joan Kealy" slug: "joan-kealy" taxonomy: "indiv" url: "http://localhost/indiv/joan-kealy/" genre: - name: "Tax" slug: "tax" taxonomy: "genre" url: "http://localhost/type/tax/" media_type: "Program" programmers: - name: "Joan Kealy" slug: "joan-kealy" taxonomy: "indiv" url: "http://localhost/indiv/joan-kealy/" download_url: "https://archive.org/download/timex-sinclair-software-archive/Social%20Security%20Benefits%20Tax%20%281992%29%28Kealy%2C%20Joan%29%28TS2068%29%28US%29%28Program%29.zip" tsrun_member: "Social Security Benefits Tax (1992)(Kealy, Joan)(TS2068)(US)(Program)/Social Security Benefits Tax (1992)(Kealy, Joan)(TS2068)(US)(Program).tap" mediadate: "1992" images: - url: "http://localhost/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/soc-1.png" - url: "http://localhost/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/soc-2.png" - url: "http://localhost/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/soc-3.png" article_media: - id: 22656 title: "Deriving Your Tax Threshold from Your Voting Status" type: "article" url: "http://localhost/article/deriving-your-tax-threshold-from-your-voting-status/" media_type_tags: "Tax" --- # Social Security Benefits Tax Works out how much of your Social Security benefits is taxable, following the IRS worksheet line by line. You first pick one of four filing statuses, which sets the base amount: $25,000 for a single taxpayer or a married person who lived apart from their spouse all year and files separately, $32,000 for a married couple filing jointly, and $0 for a married couple filing separately after living together for any part of the year. The program then asks for taxable income, adjustments from the 1040, tax-exempt income, foreign income and half of your Social Security benefits, and prints each figure and running total as a numbered worksheet line. If the total is over the base amount, half of the excess is compared with half the benefits, and the smaller figure is shown as the taxable amount to add to your other income on the 1040. Otherwise it reports that no tax is due on the benefits. Figures are entered without dollar signs and rounded to the nearest dollar. The opening screen reads “DETERMINING THE TAXABLE AMOUNT OF YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS”, and a `REM` in line 10 says that it is based on the August 1991 “Financial Focus” from Scudder. The program came with [Joan Kealy’s](http://localhost/indiv/joan-kealy/) article “[Deriving Your Tax Threshold from Your Voting Status](http://localhost/article/deriving-your-tax-threshold-from-your-voting-status/)” in ZXir QLive Alive! (Spring 1992). “Voting status” is the article’s own wording for filing status. Besides the program, the newsletter’s Issue 4 disk holds the article’s printed menu screen and two sample runs. The thresholds are the ones in force for 1991. ## Program Analysis ### Structure Lines 10–40 show the title and instructions and wait with `PAUSE 1000`. Lines 50–90 print the four filing statuses, accept a choice from 1 to 4 and set the threshold `TH`. Lines 100–180 take each figure as a string with `INPUT`, print it right-aligned on its worksheet line with `AT row,31-LEN`, and work the totals with `VAL`. Line 190 stops with a no-tax message if the amount over the threshold is zero or less. Lines 200–230 halve the excess and print whichever is smaller, the line 6 or the line 10 figure, as the taxable amount, and line 240 waits for a key. ## Notable Techniques - Each figure is read into a string (`I$`, `A$`, `X$`, `F$`, `B$`) so that it can be echoed exactly as typed and right-justified with `LEN`, then converted with `VAL` for the arithmetic. - The screen layout copies the numbered lines of the paper worksheet, so the result can be checked against the IRS form. ## Potential Issues - If half the benefits exactly equals half the excess, neither line 220 (`VAL B$4 OR A<1 THEN GO TO 60 70 IF A=1 OR A=2 THEN LET TH=25000 80 IF A=3 THEN LET TH=32000 90 IF A=4 THEN LET TH=0 100 CLS : INPUT "TOTAL OF TAXABLE INCOME",I$: PRINT AT 1,0;"1. TAXABLE INCOME";AT 1,31-LEN I$;I$ 110 INPUT "FROM IRS 1040-ADJUSTMENTS TO INCOME?",A$: PRINT AT 2,0;"2. -ADJUSTMENTS";AT 2,31-LEN A$;A$ 120 LET R1=VAL I$-VAL A$: PRINT AT 3,0;"3. RESULT (#1-#2)";AT 3,31-LEN STR$ R1;R1 130 INPUT "TAX-EXEMPT INCOME?",X$: PRINT AT 4,0;"4. +EXEMPT INCOME";AT 4,31-LEN X$;X$ 140 INPUT "FOREIGN INCOME NOT SHOWN IN #1",F$: PRINT AT 5,0;"5. +FOREIGN INCOME";AT 5,31-LEN F$;F$ 150 INPUT "1/2 OF SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS?",B$: PRINT AT 6,0;"6. +HALF SS";AT 6,31-LEN B$;B$ 160 LET R2=R1+VAL X$+VAL F$+VAL B$: PRINT AT 7,0;"7. RESULT (#3+4+5+6)";AT 7,31-LEN STR$ R2;R2 170 PRINT AT 8,0;"8. -THRESHOLD";AT 8,31-LEN STR$ TH;TH 180 LET AM=R2-TH: PRINT AT 9,0;"9. AMOUNT OVER THRESHOLD";AT 9,31-LEN STR$ AM;AM 190 IF AM<=0 THEN PRINT "NO TAX ON YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS!": STOP 200 LET R3=AM*.5: PRINT AT 10,0;"10. MULTIPLY BY .5";AT 10,31-LEN STR$ R3;R3 210 PRINT AT 14,0;"THE TAXABLE AMOUNT TO BE ADDED TO YOUR OTHER TAXABLE INCOME ON THE IRS 1040 IS THE SMALLER OF LINE 6 OR 10." 220 IF VAL B$