Credit for the Elderly or the Disabled: Basic Rules
Published November 6, 2026
Publication 554 (2025), Tax Guide for Seniors, explains the credit for the elderly or the disabled. The credit reduces the tax you owe. It is for people age 65 or older, and for some people under 65 who retired on disability. This guide is general information. It is not advice about your return.
Who is a qualified individual
The publication says you are a qualified individual if you are a U.S. citizen or resident alien, and one of these two things is true:
- You were age 65 or older at the end of the tax year.
- You were under age 65. You retired on permanent and total disability. You received taxable disability income for the year. You had not reached mandatory retirement age on January 1.
You are considered to be age 65 on the day before your 65th birthday. For example, if you were born on January 1, 1961, you are considered to be age 65 at the end of 2025.
Permanent and total disability
The publication says you are permanently and totally disabled. This means a physical or mental condition keeps you from any substantial gainful activity. A physician must certify that the condition has lasted, or is expected to last, at least 12 months. The condition can also be one that can be expected to result in death.
If you are under 65, your physician must complete a statement. You do not file this statement with your return. You keep it for your records. Veterans can use VA Form 21-0172 in place of the physician's statement, if the VA certifies the disability.
Disability income
To count under this credit, disability income must meet two rules. It must be paid under your employer's accident or health plan, or under a pension plan. It must also be included in your income as wages for the time you are absent from work because of the disability.
Some payments are not disability income. A payment from a plan without disability retirement is not disability income, the publication says. A lump-sum payment for accrued annual leave, received when you retire on disability, is a salary payment.
Income limits
Figure 5-B in the publication lists the limits. Even if you are a qualified individual, you cannot take the credit if either test is met. The first test uses the amount on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line 11a. The second test uses your nontaxable social security and other nontaxable pensions, annuities, or disability income.
- Single, head of household, or qualifying surviving spouse: line 11a of $17,500 or more, or nontaxable amounts of $5,000 or more.
- Married filing jointly, only one spouse is a qualified individual: $20,000 or more, or $5,000 or more.
- Married filing jointly, both spouses are qualified individuals: $25,000 or more, or $7,500 or more.
- Married filing separately, and you lived apart from your spouse for all of 2025: $12,500 or more, or $3,750 or more.
Married couples
If you are married at the end of the year, you generally must file a joint return with your spouse to take the credit. If you did not live in the same household at any time during the year, you can file jointly or separately. You can still take the credit either way.
How the credit is figured
You can take the credit only if you file Form 1040 or 1040-SR. You cannot take it if you file Form 1040-NR. You can figure the credit yourself on Schedule R (Form 1040). You can also ask the IRS to figure it, using the instructions for Schedule R.
Simple steps
- Check your age at the end of the year, or your disability status.
- If you are under 65, get the physician's statement and keep it with your records.
- Check your income against the limits in Figure 5-B.
- Complete Schedule R with your Form 1040 or 1040-SR.
Related rules are in Schedule 3, additional credits and payments. If your disability payments come from a pension, see disability pensions when they are taxable. Social security benefits can also affect the income test. See social security benefits and when they are taxable.
Upload your documents and answer a few simple questions to start your return.
Sources: Sources: IRS, Publication 554 (2025), Tax Guide for Seniors (https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p554.pdf) This is general information, not advice about your specific return.
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