How Vermont taxes retirement income in 2026 — Social Security, pensions and IRA distributions — starting from the federal worksheet that decides how much of a benefit is taxable at all, then the state's own subtractions, cliffs and credits, on your figures.
Working income instead? The Vermont paycheck calculator covers wages.
Social Security in Vermont: Taxed with relief. The federal worksheet runs first — the state only ever sees the federally taxable portion, and most states then exempt it anyway.
From the gross benefit to the state tax, step by step: the federal worksheet, the state's inclusion, the pension subtraction, then the brackets.
| Social Security benefit | $24,000 |
| Federally taxable portion (Pub. 915) | $19,800 |
| Taxed by Vermont | $19,404 |
| Pension / IRA income | $30,000 |
| Vermont pension subtraction | — |
| Other income | $10,000 |
| Total Vermont tax | $1,556 |
| of which: the tax on Social Security | $650 |
The default case: $24,000 of Social Security, $30,000 of pension/IRA income, $10,000 of other income, single and 65+. Provisional income is $52,000, so $19,800 of the benefit is federally taxable. Vermont then taxes $19,404 of that portion, subtracts $0 of pension income, and the total Vermont tax lands at $1,556.
Now move the age band to 55–64, or push the other income up: Vermont’s exemption phases out over a $10,000 AGI band, so the SS share of the tax rises gradually.
The state's Social Security rule, its pension treatment, and the federal worksheet both stand on.
Full exemption at AGI of $50,000 or less (single/other statuses) / $65,000 or less (MFJ); the exemption phases out over a $10,000 band and is zero at AGI of $60,000 / $75,000 or more (figures published by the VT Department of Taxes; see notes on Act 71 of 2025).
Source: Vermont Department of Taxes.
$10,000 exclusion for CSRS and certain other non-Social-Security-covered government retirement systems, within the same income limits; a taxpayer may claim only one of the Social Security, military, CSRS or other-retirement exemptions. No exclusion for private pensions.
Source: Vermont Department of Taxes.
Before any state touches your benefits, the IRS decides how much of them is taxable at all: provisional income (your other income plus half the benefit) is tested against $25,000/$34,000 single or $32,000/$44,000 joint, and 0%, up to 50%, or up to 85% of the benefit enters federal AGI. Every figure on this page starts from that worksheet — the calculator runs it for you — and the states that tax Social Security then apply their own subtraction, credit or cliff to the federally taxable portion.
Source: IRS Publication 915 — Social Security and Equivalent Railroad Retirement Benefits.
Partly. Full exemption at AGI of $50,000 or less (single/other statuses) / $65,000 or less (MFJ); the exemption phases out over a $10,000 band and is zero at AGI of $60,000 / $75,000 or more (figures published by the VT Department of Taxes; see notes on Act 71 of 2025). On the default case below, $650 of the state tax falls on the Social Security portion.
On $24,000 of Social Security, $30,000 of pension/IRA income and $10,000 of other income (single, 65+), the federally taxable part of the benefit is $19,800. Vermont taxes $19,404 of it, subtracts $0 of pension income, and the total state tax is $1,556. Change any input and the whole chain recomputes.
It depends on provisional income — other income plus half the benefit. Under $25,000 single / $32,000 joint, none of it is taxable; in the middle band, up to 50%; above $34,000 / $44,000, up to 85%. No more than 85% of a benefit is ever taxable federally. The calculator runs the IRS Publication 915 worksheet on your figures.
$10,000 exclusion for CSRS and certain other non-Social-Security-covered government retirement systems, within the same income limits; a taxpayer may claim only one of the Social Security, military, CSRS or other-retirement exemptions. No exclusion for private pensions. The calculator applies the subtraction where it is a clean dollar cap and describes the source-specific exemptions (government, military and railroad pensions in several states) rather than guessing your pension’s source.
In several states, yes: subtractions switch on at 55, 60, 62, 65 or full retirement age depending on the state and the provision — Colorado’s pool starts at 55, Georgia’s big exclusion at 65, Iowa’s full exclusion at 55. The age switch on this calculator applies each state’s age tests at band level; exact birthdays matter at the edges, which the page flags.
Vermont retirement income tax calculator for 2026: on $24,000 of Social Security, $30,000 of pension/IRA income and $10,000 other income at 65+, the Vermont tax is $1,556 — Social Security is taxed with relief in Vermont. Enter your own retirement income.
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How Vermont taxes retirement income in 2026: Social Security (taxed with relief), pension and IRA subtractions, and the federal worksheet underneath — applied to your benefits, your pension and your age.
On the default case — $24,000 of benefits, $30,000 of pension income, $10,000 other income at 65+ — Vermont takes $1,556, of which $650 falls on the Social Security portion.
The computation order matters and is the order the states use: federal taxable benefits first (Publication 915), then the state’s own inclusion and subtraction rules, then the state brackets through the same verified engine as the paycheck calculators.
Partly — Vermont taxes the federally taxable portion with a subtraction, credit or income test on top.
Because state retirement relief is age-gated: subtractions switch on at 55, 60, 62, 65 or full retirement age. The age band applies each state’s test at band level.
Everything else in AGI — wages, interest, dividends, business income, and capital gains (which stack into the same state base; the capital gains pages price that layer separately).
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