Does Social Security Count as Income for Student Loan Repayment?

Updated on March 26, 2025

Quick Facts

You only have to count Social Security if it’s taxed. If it’s not, it won’t show up on your tax return—and your payment could be $0.
Retirement and SSDI count only if taxed. SSI never counts, no matter what.
IDR plans use your AGI from your tax return. If Social Security isn’t taxed, it won’t be there—and you don’t need to report it.

Social Security count as income only if it’s taxable. If your Social Security benefits aren’t taxed, they won’t show up in your adjusted gross income—and they won’t count toward your monthly payment under an income-driven repayment (IDR) plan.

But if any part of your benefits is taxed, it will be included in your AGI and could raise your payment.

In this guide, we’ll break down when Social Security gets taxed, which benefits are excluded, and how to make sure you’re not overpaying on your student loans.

Social Security is taxed—and counts toward student loan payments—only if your combined income is high enough.

If that happens, the IRS taxes up to 85% of your benefits, and the taxed portion gets added to your adjusted gross income. That means it could raise your monthly payment on an income-driven repayment plan.

Here’s how combined income works:

Add your adjusted gross income
Add any tax-free interest (like from municipal bonds)
Add half of your Social Security benefits

Example:
Let’s say you file taxes as a single person, with:

$5,000 in part-time job income (your AGI)
$0 in tax-free interest
$12,000 per year in Social Security

Your combined income would be:

$5,000 (AGI) + $0 (tax-free interest) + $6,000 (half of your Social Security) = $11,000 combined income

Because that’s under the $25,000 threshold for single filers, your benefits won’t be taxed—and they won’t count toward your IDR payment.

But if your combined income goes over $25,000 (single) or $32,000 (married filing jointly), you’ll likely pay tax on part of your Social Security—and that amount could increase your student loan payment.

Chart showing how much of your Social Security is taxed and counts toward student loan repayment, based on filing status and combined income. For singles, benefits are untaxed under $25,000, taxed up to 50% between $25,000–$34,000, and up to 85% over $34,000. For married filing jointly, thresholds are under $32,000 (none), $32,000–$44,000 (up to 50%), and over $44,000 (up to 85%). For married filing separately, up to 85% is taxable at any income level.

If any part of your benefits is taxed, it’ll show up in your AGI—and that means it will count toward your student loan payment under an IDR plan.

But if your Social Security isn’t taxed, it won’t appear in your AGI, and you don’t need to report it on your IDR application.

Not if you’re using an income-driven plan. If your Social Security is taxable, it will be counted as income under any IDR plan.

But there are a few repayment plans that don’t factor in Social Security—because they don’t look at your income at all.

Here’s what that means:

Standard Repayment Plan: Fixed payments over 10 years based only on your loan balance—not your income or Social Security.
Extended Repayment Plan: Longer term (up to 25 years) with fixed or graduated payments. Income doesn’t matter here either.
Graduated Repayment Plan: Starts with low payments that increase every two years. Payments are based on time, not income.

These plans ignore income entirely, so your Social Security benefits don’t matter—but your monthly payments may be much higher than under IDR.

No. Some social security benefits do—but others are completely excluded.

Here’s how each type of benefit is treated under income-driven repayment plans:

Social Security Retirement: Only counts if it’s taxed. If your total income is over $25,000 (single) or $32,000 (married filing jointly), part of your benefits may be taxed—and if they’re taxed, they’ll count toward your IDR payment.
SSDI (Disability): Same rule. It only counts if it’s taxable. If your SSDI shows up in your AGI, it’ll affect your student loan payment. If it’s not taxed, it won’t count.
SSI (Supplemental Security Income): Never counts. SSI is needs-based, not taxable, and never included in your AGI—so it’s completely excluded from IDR calculations.

Comparison chart of Social Security Retirement, SSDI, and SSI benefits for student loan repayment. Social Security Retirement and SSDI may be partially taxable and only count as income for IDR plans if taxable, with up to 85% of benefits potentially taxable. SSI is never taxable and never counts as income. Base income thresholds are $25,000 (single) and $32,000 (married filing jointly) for taxable benefits.

Bottom Line

Whether Social Security counts as income for student loan repayment depends on its taxability. If your benefits are taxable, they count toward your IDR payment. If they’re not, they don’t. SSI is never counted.

For many borrowers, this can mean the difference between qualifying for a $0 payment or having Social Security increase their monthly bill. Understanding how your benefits affect repayment can help you plan strategically.

Need help understanding your options?

Book a call with our student loan lawyer today to get clear, expert guidance on lowering your payments or exploring forgiveness options.

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