There are many elders in the community who have questions regarding the tax status of their social security and pension income. If Social Security is your only source of income you do not have to file a tax return, unless you asked to have federal taxes deducted from your benefits and you are entitled to a refund of taxes.

On Tuesday, February 28th BDO Chartered Accountants and Advisors will be hosting a tax clinic for Akwesasne Elders. United States Tax returns will be processed and efiled at no cost to fully retired elders of Akwesasne. Barbara Montour will be available at this time. The tax clinic will be held at the Tri-District Elders Lodge from 1pm to 6pm on Tuesday February 28th. Please bring your previous year tax return plus all 2011 tax documents. We look forward to seeing you!

All Social Security recipients should receive a Form SSA-1099 from the Social Security Administration which shows the total amount of their benefits. You can use this information to help you determine if your benefits are taxable. Here are seven tips from the IRS to help you:

1. How much – if any – of your Social Security benefits are taxable depends on your total income and marital status.

2. Generally, if Social Security benefits were your only income for 2011, your benefits are not taxable and you probably do not need to file a federal income tax return.

3. If you received income from other sources, your benefits will not be taxed unless your modified adjusted gross income is more than the base amount for your filing status (see below).

4. Your taxable benefits and modified adjusted gross income are figured on a worksheet in the Form 1040A or Form 1040 Instruction booklet. Your tax software program will also figure this for you.

5. You can do the following quick computation to determine whether some of your benefits may be taxable:

•First, add one-half of the total Social Security benefits you received to all your other income, including any tax-exempt interest and other exclusions from income.

•Then, compare this total to the base amount for your filing status. If the total is more than your base amount, some of your benefits may be taxable.

6. The 2011 base amounts are:

•$32,000 for married couples filing jointly.

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

•$0 for married persons filing separately who lived together during the year.

7. For additional 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 Publication 915 at http://www.irs.gov or by calling 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676).