Effective Dates: 02/10/2025 - Present Previous | Next

TN 26 (02-25)

GN 05002.005 The Social Security Benefit Statement

CITATIONS:

Section 6050F of the Internal Revenue Code

A. Purpose and effective date of the Social Security Benefit Statement

1. Purpose of the Social Security Benefit Statement

Beneficiaries use the Forms SSA-1099 and SSA-1042S (Social Security Benefit Statements) to determine if their benefits are taxable and to determine the amount they are required to report to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Social Security Benefit Statements are available to the following types of beneficiaries:

  • •

    Title II only;

  • •

    Title II and Title XVI (concurrent), and

  • •

    Title II and Title XVIII claimants.

2. Effective date of Social Security Benefit Statement

In accordance with the provisions of Public Law 98-21 (the Social Security Amendments of 1983), we began issuing Social Security Benefit Statements in 1985 for tax year 1984 when Social Security benefits first became subject to the federal income tax.

CAUTION: Do not confuse the Social Security Benefit Statement with the Form SSA-7004 (Social Security Statement). The Form SSA-7004 provides workers with their wages and self-employment income, estimates of tax contributions, and potential benefits. Also, do not confuse Form 1099-MISC, Miscellaneous Income with any of the SSA-1099s mentioned in GN 05002.005E. The Form 1099-MISC is a miscellaneous income form used to report payments made during the year, including gross proceeds paid to an attorney in connection with legal services.

B. The Social Security Benefit Statements and accompanying IRS Notice 703

1. Social Security Benefit Statements

We issue the following Social Security Benefit Statements:

  • •

    SSA-1099, (Social Security Benefit Statement) for U.S. citizens and residents; and

  • •

    SSA-1042S, (Social Security Benefit Statement) for individuals who are not U.S. citizens or residents.

NOTE: 

A U.S. resident is a non-citizen who has lawful permanent resident status or meets the Substantial Presence Test, as explained in GN 05010.030

2. IRS Notice 703

IRS Notice 703 (Read This to See If Your Social Security Benefits May Be Taxable) accompanies the Form SSA-1099. Beneficiaries use this notice to determine if any part of their benefit is taxable for federal income tax purposes.

C. Policy for issuing and mailing the Social Security Benefit Statement

1. Timeframe

We issue all Social Security Benefit Statements by January 31 of each year. If a beneficiary requests a replacement Social Security Benefit Statement for the current tax year before January 31, advise the beneficiary that they must wait until after January 31 before requesting a replacement Social Security Benefit Statement.

For more information on how to request a replacement Social Security Benefit Statement, see subsection E.4 below and GN 05002.220. Do not attempt to request a replacement SSA-1099 or SSA-1042S for the current tax year before January 31.

NOTE: 

For cases referred to in GN 05002.040B.3, where some beneficiaries are due Social Security Benefits but their Monthly Benefit Amount (MBA) is less than their current Supplemental Medical Insurance (SMI) premium, we take manual actions to include the benefits applied to Part B premiums in the SSA-1099 Box 3. Generally, we complete these actions by February 28th of each year.

2. mySocial Security (mySSA) 1099/1042S Digital delivery

Beneficiaries can access a copy of their form SSA-1099 or SSA-1042 online by visiting mySSA. This website allows mySSA Internet Users (IUs) to view, print, save or request a mailed replacement Social Security Benefit Statement. For more information on a replacement statement, please see E.4 below.  Beneficiaries can also opt out of receiving their annual statement by mail by completing the following steps:

  • •

    Select “Message Center”,

  • •

    Navigate to the Preferences section,

  • •

    Select “Set Preferences”,

  • •

    Select a communications preference:

    • –

      I only want secure online notices. Do not send a paper copy if available online.” or

    • –

      “I would like paper notices in the mail, and online notices.”,

  • •

    Open the Authorization Agreement to proceed and select that you have read and agree with the authorization to stop receiving paper mailings since your notice is available online,

  • •

    Select a notification preference to receive a text, email or both when a new message is in the Message Center,

  • •

    Select “Save and Continue”

  • •

    You should receive a message “You have successfully updated your preferences.”

For more information about opting out of the mailing, visit NL 01201.001.    

3. Mailing (only for those who have not opted out through mySSA website)

We mail Social Security Benefit Statements first class between January 3 and 24 each year, for delivery no later than January 31.

NOTE: 

We do not mail Forms SSA-1099 and 1042S to individuals living in a country on the USPS International Mail Service Suspension List of the Sanctioned Countries and Regions List. For further questions, you can access the following link, Office of Earnings & International Operations

4. Mailing to representative payees

Representative payees receive the benefit payments for the use and benefit of the beneficiary. We mail benefit statements to representative payees on the record in all cases.

NOTE: 

Users with representative payees cannot opt out of paper notices, per NL 01201.001.

5. Policy for undeliverable Social Security Benefit Statements

Program Service Center (PSC) technicians receiving undeliverable Forms SSA-1099/1042S must discard the forms without further development. Benefit statements are informational in nature and do not require a response from the beneficiary (see GN 02605.055A.2.). Since these forms contain personally identifiable information (PII), follow the necessary steps for disposing of PII (for detailed information on PII disposal, refer to the PII portal website).

D. How the End-of-Year Benefit Statement process works

See details in SM 00630.040.

E. Versions of Forms SSA-1099, SSA-1042S, and associated instructions

We issue multiple versions of Forms SSA-1099 and SSA-1042S, depending on the nature of the transaction and whether the beneficiary’s record reflects their preferred language is Spanish. The forms consist of either self-mailers or flat-sheets to replace incorrect or missing statements. In addition to the self-mailers and flat-sheets, beneficiaries can access the mySSA portal to request replacement Social Security Benefit Statements. Replacements are available after January 31. For details on how to access the mySSA portal, see GN 05002.220.

1. Self-mailers

We have eleven self-mailer versions that we issue each January for the previous tax year. They are:

  1. a. 

    SSA-1099-SM (Domestic - English),

  2. b. 

    SSA-1099-SM-SP (Preferred language-Spanish),

  3. c. 

    SSA-1099-SM-F (Foreign – English),

  4. d. 

    SSA-1099-SM-F-SP (Preferred language-Spanish)

  5. e. 

    SSA-1099-SM-UD (Updated Domestic – English),

  6. f. 

    SSA-1099-SM-UF (Updated Foreign – English),

  7. g. 

    SSA-1042S-SM (Domestic – English),

  8. h. 

    SSA-1042S-SM-SP (Preferred language-Spanish),

  9. i. 

    SSA-1042S-SM-F (Foreign – English),

  10. j. 

    SSA-1042S-SM-F-SP (Foreign - Preferred language - Spanish) and

  11. k. 

    SSA-1042S-SM-U (Updated Domestic - English, Foreign – Spanish).

2. Corrected forms

An automated Central Office System process issues Form SSA-1099-SM-C. The National Computer Center (NCC) prints and mails the benefit statements. These forms include those processed from End of Year Benefit Statement Alerts.

3. Flat-sheets

We have three flat-sheet versions that we issue after January to replace incorrect or missing statements. They are:

  • •

    SSA-1099-U3 (Manual statement when it is not possible to automate the correct data on the benefit statement, see SM 00630.070).

  • •

    SSA-1042-S-U3 (Manual statement when it is not possible to automate the correct data on the benefit statement, see SM 00630.070).

  • •

    SSA-1099-SP (Spanish).

4. mySSA 1099/1042S replacements

Beneficiaries can view, print, save, opt out of mailing (see C.2 above) or request a mailed replacement Social Security Benefit Statement. We have two versions that are available on mySSA after January 31. For more information on these two forms, see GN 05002.220. They are:

  • •

    SSA-1099-R-OP1, and

  • •

    SSA-1042-R-OP1.

NOTE: Beneficiaries will have access to their SSA-1099 or SSA-1042S tax form for any of the past 6 years for which benefits were paid.

The current SSA-1099 or SSA-1042S (most recent tax year’s benefit statement) is available after January 31 of the current year.

Historical SSA-1099 or SSA-1042S (previous five tax year’s benefit statements) are available anytime.

Additionally, eAccess (formerly ROME - Electronic Access/Registration of Most Everyone) blocks access to deceased beneficiary’s mySSA accounts.

5. Instruction sheet

The instruction sheet explains items on the self-mailer, corrected, and replacement Social Security Benefit Statements, as well as information to determine if social security benefits may be taxable. We have two versions of instructions. They are listed here:

  1. a. 

    SSA-1099-F2-INST

  2. b. 

    SSA-1042S-INST

To Link to this section - Use this URL:
http://policy.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0205002005
GN 05002.005 - The Social Security Benefit Statement - 02/10/2025
Batch run: 02/10/2025
Rev:02/10/2025