ST. PAUL, MN – Senator Warren Limmer (R-Maple Grove) recently introduced a bill to fully eliminate Minnesota’s tax on Social Security income.

“Our state’s $7.7 billion budget surplus shows Minnesotans are being heavily overtaxed. With the surplus in mind, now is the perfect time to finally repeal the tax on Social Security checks once and for all,” Limmer said. “Eliminating this tax is a promise I made to my constituents and a policy I have been pushing for years. The Social Security income tax hits seniors hard, as they are already on fixed incomes. It is long overdue to give our most vulnerable people a permanent tax break.”

Eliminating this tax would help prevent retirees from leaving Minnesota for states that do not tax Social Security benefits. Currently, Minnesota is one of only 12 states that still tax social security benefits.

The Minnesota Department of Revenue estimates that eliminating the Social Security income tax would provide $540 million in tax relief for Minnesotan seniors in the first year. Furthermore, this tax relief would increase in future years. For the next two-year budget period, the additional two-year tax relief estimate is $1.19 billion.

Senate Republicans have been phasing out taxes on Social Security income since 2017.

Facts about Social Security income taxes:

• Kiplinger Magazine ranks Minnesota as “not tax-friendly” for retirees.
• Social Security is double taxed – once when it’s taken out of your paycheck, and then again when you receive your benefit later in life.
• 352,000 Minnesota seniors would benefit from the repeal of the Social Security income tax.