Figuring the Credit Yourself(p229)

If you figure the credit yourself, fill out the front of Schedule R. Next, fill out Part III of Schedule R. If you file Form 1040A, enter the amount from Schedule R, line 22, on Form 1040A, line 30. If you file Form 1040, include the amount from Schedule R, line 22, on line 53; check box c, and enter "Sch R" on the line next to that box.

To figure the credit, you must first determine your initial amount using lines 10 through 12. See Table 32-1. Your initial amount is on line 12.

If you are a qualified individual under age 65, your initial amount cannot be more than your taxable disability income.

If you are a qualified individual under age 65, and your spouse is also a qualified individual, your initial amount is your taxable disability income plus $5,000.

If you are a qualified individual, and both you and your spouse are under age 65, your initial amount cannot be more than your combined taxable disability income.

Step 2 is to figure the total amount of nontaxable social security and certain other nontaxable payments you received during the year. You must reduce your initial amount by these payments.

Enter these nontaxable payments on lines 13a or 13b, and total them on line 13c. If you are married filing jointly, you must enter the combined amount of nontaxable payments both you and your spouse receive.

Include the following nontaxable payments in the amounts you enter on lines 13a and 13b.

• Nontaxable social security payments. This is the nontaxable part of the benefits shown in box 5 of Form SSA-1099, Social Security Benefit Statement, before deducting any amounts withheld to pay premiums on supplementary Medicare insurance, and before any reduction because of benefits received under workers' compensation. (Do not include a lump-sum death benefit payment you may receive as a surviving spouse, or a surviving child's insurance benefit payments you may receive as a guardian.)
• Nontaxable railroad retirement pension payments treated as social security. This is the nontaxable part of the benefits shown in box 5 of Form RRB-1099, Payments by the Railroad Retirement Board.
• Nontaxable pension or annuity payments or disability benefits that are paid under a law administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). (Do not include amounts received as a pension, annuity, or similar allowance for personal injuries or sickness resulting from active service in the armed forces of any country or in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or the Public Health Service, or as a disability annuity under section 808 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980.)
• Pension or annuity payments or disability benefits that are excluded from income under any provision of federal law other than the Internal Revenue Code. (Do not include amounts that are a return of your cost of a pension or annuity. These amounts do not reduce your initial amount.)
  

You also must reduce your initial amount by your excess adjusted gross income. Figure your excess adjusted gross income on lines 14–17.

You figure your excess adjusted gross income as follows:

1. Subtract from your adjusted gross income (Form 1040, line 38 or Form 1040A, line 22) the amount shown for your filing status below.
   1. $7,500 if you are single, a head of household, or a qualifying widow(er) with dependent child,
   2. $10,000 if you are married filing jointly, or
   3. $5,000 if you are married filing separately and you and your spouse did not live in the same household at any time during the tax year.
2. Divide the result of (1) by 2.

To determine if you can take the credit, you must add (on line 18) the amounts you figured in Step 2 (line 13c) and Step 3 (line 17).

Subtract the amount determined in Step 4 (line 18) from the amount determined in Step 1 (line 12) and multiply the result by 15% (.15).

In certain cases, the amount of your credit may be limited. See Limit on credit, later.

You are 66 years old and your spouse is 64. Your spouse is not disabled. You file a joint return on Form 1040. Your adjusted gross income is $14,630. Together you received $3,200 from social security, which was nontaxable. You figure the credit as follows:

Applying the 5 Step Process					Amount
1)	Initial amount				$5,000
2)	Total nontaxable social security and other nontaxable pensions		$3,200
3)	Excess adjusted gross income ($14,630 − $10,000) ÷ 2		2,315
4)	Add line 2 and line 3				5,515
5)	Subtract line 4 from line 1 (Do not enter less than -0-)				-0-

You cannot take the credit because your nontaxable social security (line 2) plus your excess adjusted gross income (line 3) is more than your initial amount (line 1).

The amount of credit you can claim is generally limited to the amount of your tax. Use the Credit Limit Worksheet in the Instructions for Schedule R to determine if your credit is limited.

The following example illustrates the credit for the elderly or the disabled. The initial amount is taken from Table 32-1, shown earlier.

James Davis is 58 years old. In 2009 he retired on permanent and total disability, and he is still permanently and totally disabled. He got the required physician's statement in 2009, and kept it with his tax records. His physician signed on line B of the statement. This year James checks the box in Part II of Schedule R. He does not need to get another statement for 2011.

He received the following income for the year:

Nontaxable social security	$1,500
Interest (taxable)	100
Taxable disability pension	11,400

James' adjusted gross income is $11,500 ($11,400 + $100). He figures the credit on Schedule R as follows:

1)	Initial amount			$5,000
2)	Taxable disability pension			11,400
3)	Smaller of (1) or (2)			5,000
4)	Nontaxable social security benefits	$1,500
5)	Excess adjusted gross income ($11,500 – $7,500) ÷ 2	2,000
6)	Add lines 4 and 5			3,500
7)	Subtract line 6 from line 3 (Do not enter less than -0-)			1,500
8)	Multiply line 7 by 15% (.15)			225
9)	Enter the amount from the Credit Limit Worksheet in the Instructions for Schedule R			201
10)	Credit (Enter the smaller of line 8 or line 9)			$201

He enters $201 on line 30 of Form 1040A. The Schedule R for James Davis is not shown.