does social security count as income 
social security benefits are not counted as gross income however benefits are included in your combined income which the irs uses to determine if you should pay taxes on your benefits combined income is determined by totaling your adjusted gross income agi nontaxable interest and half of your social security benefits if your combined income is between 25 000 and 34 000 you may be taxed on up to 50 of your benefits if your combined income is more than 34 000 you may be taxed on up to 85 of your benefits 33