While this question may be academic by the time I retire (in about 35 years), I still would like to know the full tax consequences of Roth IRAs. I have heard it said that Roth IRAs distributions MAY be counted as income when figuring out tax on Social security benefits. I have been parsing through IRS Publications 554, 915, and 590, as well as the Social Security Website, trying to figure out if distributions from Roth IRAs are counted as "tax-exempt interest" towards calculating taxes on Social Security Benefits, but am frustrated. Anybody have a solid answer or a reference for this question?

Steve D.

The rules for taxing social security specifically state that tax exempt INTEREST, that is, interest from state and local obligations, is included in the computation.

Roth IRA distributions are NOT tax exempt interest.

However I cannot guarantee that there won't be law changes in the next 35 years!

Barry