{ “@context”: “https://schema.org”, “@type”: “BlogPosting”, “headline”: “The Social Security Tax Torpedo: Avoiding the Hidden 85% Surcharge”, “description”: “A strategic guide to the Tax Torpedo. Analysis of how Social Security benefits are taxed and how to avoid the 40.7% marginal tax rate trap.”, “datePublished”: “2025-12-24T09:00:00+09:00”, “dateModified”: “2025-12-24T09:00:00+09:00”, “author”: { “@type”: “Organization”, “name”: “Best Money Tip Editor”, “url”: “https://bestmoneytip.com/about/” }, “publisher”: { “@type”: “Organization”, “name”: “BestMoneyTip”, “logo”: { “@type”: “ImageObject”, “url”: “https://bestmoneytip.com/logo.png” } }, “mainEntityOfPage”: { “@type”: “WebPage”, “@id”: “https://bestmoneytip.com/social-security-tax-torpedo-strategy” } } { “@context”: “https://schema.org”, “@type”: “FAQPage”, “mainEntity”: [ { “@type”: “Question”, “name”: “What is the ‘Tax Torpedo’?”, “acceptedAnswer”: { “@type”: “Answer”, “text”: “It is a mathematical anomaly where earning $1 extra income triggers tax on $0.85 of Social Security benefits, spiking your marginal rate to over 40%.” } }, { “@type”: “Question”, “name”: “How is ‘Combined Income’ calculated?”, “acceptedAnswer”: { “@type”: “Answer”, “text”: “It is AGI + Non-Taxable Interest + 50% of Social Security. This sum determines if 0%, 50%, or 85% of your benefits are taxable.” } }, { “@type”: “Question”, “name”: “How can I avoid this trap?”, “acceptedAnswer”: { “@type”: “Answer”, “text”: “Stay below the thresholds (low income) or blast through them (high income). 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}); }, { threshold: 0.1 }); els.forEach(el => io.observe(el)); } else { els.forEach(el => el.classList.add(‘is-visible’)); } // [2] Chart Logic (Line Chart) const chartEl = document.getElementById(‘chart_tax_torpedo’); window.drawTorpedoChart = function() { if (!window.google || !google.visualization) return; var data = google.visualization.arrayToDataTable([ [‘Income’, ‘Standard Rate’, ‘With Torpedo Effect’], [‘$40k’, 12, 12], [‘$60k’, 12, 22.2], /* Spike Starts */ [‘$80k’, 22, 40.7], /* Peak Zone */ [‘$120k’, 22, 22] /* Ends */ ]); var options = { title: ‘The Phantom Tax Rate Spike’, titleTextStyle: { color: ‘#2c3e50’, fontSize: 16, bold: true, fontName: ‘Georgia’ }, hAxis: { title: ‘Annual Income’, textStyle: { color: ‘#777’ } }, vAxis: { title: ‘Marginal Rate (%)’, format: ‘#\’%\”, textStyle: { color: ‘#2c3e50’ } }, legend: { position: ‘bottom’ }, chartArea: { top: 40, width: ‘85%’, height: ‘55%’ }, colors: [‘#95a5a6’, ‘#c0392b’], /* Grey Normal, Red Torpedo */ lineWidth: 3, animation: { startup: true, duration: 1500, easing: ‘out’ } }; new google.visualization.LineChart(chartEl).draw(data, options); }; function loadGoogleCharts() { if (window.google && google.charts) { google.charts.load(‘current’, { packages: [‘corechart’] }); google.charts.setOnLoadCallback(window.drawTorpedoChart); } else { const s = document.createElement(‘script’); s.src = ‘https://www.gstatic.com/charts/loader.js’; s.async = true; s.onload = function() { google.charts.load(‘current’, { packages: [‘corechart’] }); google.charts.setOnLoadCallback(window.drawTorpedoChart); }; document.head.appendChild(s); } } if (chartEl) { if (‘IntersectionObserver’ in window) { const ioChart = new IntersectionObserver((entries, obs) => { if (entries[0].isIntersecting) { loadGoogleCharts(); obs.disconnect(); } }, { threshold: 0.1 }); ioChart.observe(chartEl); } else { setTimeout(loadGoogleCharts, 1500); } } let t; window.addEventListener(‘resize’, () => { clearTimeout(t); t = setTimeout(() => { if (window.google && google.visualization) window.drawTorpedoChart(); }, 250); }); })();