What are the 2026 income thresholds that determine how much Social Security benefits are taxable for married couples filing jointly?

1. What the thresholds actually are — the numbers that matter

The familiar federal tests that determine whether Social Security is taxable use “combined income” (AGI + nontaxable interest + half of Social Security). For married couples filing jointly, as summarized in reporting: when combined income is between $32,000 and $44,000 as a couple, up to 50% of benefits may be taxable; when combined income exceeds $44,000, up to 85% of benefits may be taxable ^[1]. Multiple outlets reiterate those dollar cutoffs for married joint filers in their guides to 2026 Social Security tax treatment ^[1].

2. Why the 2026 IRS inflation updates matter to this test

The IRS announced inflation adjustments that raise standard deductions and bracket thresholds for 2026; for married couples filing jointly the standard deduction rises to $32,200 ^{[2] [3]}. That larger standard deduction reduces taxable income for many couples, which can lower modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) and therefore reduce the portion of Social Security that counts toward “combined income.” Reporting from CNBC and other outlets links those 2026 tax‑code changes to planning around whether benefits become taxable ^{[1] [3]}.

3. How the thresholds interact with other tax changes and deductions

Besides the standard deduction increase, the 2025–26 legislative changes (the “One, Big, Beautiful Bill” referenced in IRS reporting) also introduced a temporary extra deduction for taxpayers age 65+ and altered other phaseouts. For retirees, those additional deductions — and where a household’s AGI lands relative to the $32,000 and $44,000 thresholds — can materially change whether 50% or 85% of benefits are taxed ^{[4] [2]}. Axios and Kiplinger explain that these law changes and inflation indexing shift who will feel the tax bite in 2026 ^{[4] [5]}.

4. How to think about “combined income” in practice

Reporting repeatedly frames the Social Security tax test as a function of combined income, which treats half of Social Security benefits as part of the equation ^[1]. That means the same Social Security check can push a couple from a non‑taxable zone into the 50% or 85% zone once other income sources — such as pensions, IRA distributions, capital gains or interest — increase AGI. The raised standard deduction ($32,200 for joint filers) reduces AGI that would otherwise be counted, potentially keeping some couples below the taxable cutoffs ^{[3] [2]}.

5. Competing perspectives and limitations in the reporting

Coverage from CNBC and other outlets presents the $32,000/$44,000 thresholds as the operative cutoffs for married joint filers in 2026 ^[1]. The IRS announcement focuses on the broader set of inflation adjustments and deductions but does not, in the documents cited here, restate the Social Security tax rule text itself — reporting frames the Social Security thresholds in plain terms while the IRS release catalogs bracket and deduction numbers ^{[2] [1]}. Available sources do not mention any new change to the statutory formula that calculates taxable Social Security benefits for 2026 beyond how indexing and deduction changes affect AGI and “combined income” ^{[2] [1]}.

6. What retirees should watch and immediate planning implications

Couples should calculate combined income using projected 2026 AGI, nontaxable interest, and half of expected Social Security to see which zone they hit. Media coverage flags that as much as 50% of benefits can be taxed between $32,000 and $44,000 of combined income and up to 85% above $44,000 ^[1]. Because the 2026 standard deduction for joint filers rose to $32,200, some couples who previously faced taxation might see relief, while those with significant non‑Social Security income remain exposed ^{[3] [2]}.

Sources cited: IRS inflation‑adjustment reporting and multiple news summaries of the 2026 tax rules and Social Security guidance ^{[2] [3] [4] [1]}.