U.S. Individual Income Tax Return

Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service

2011 Instructions for Schedule R
(Form 1040A or 1040)
Credit for the
Elderly or the
Disabled

Use Schedule R (Form 1040A or 1040) to figure the credit for the elderly or
the disabled.
Additional information. See Pub. 524 for more details.

Income Limits

Who Can Take the Credit

See the chart on page R-2.

The credit is based on your filing status, age, and income. If you are married filing a joint return, it is also
based on your spouse’s age and income. You may be
able to take this credit if either of the following applies.

Want the IRS To Figure Your
Credit?

1. You were age 65 or older at the end of 2011, or
2. You were under age 65 at the end of 2011 and you
meet all of the following.

If you can take the credit and you want us to figure it for
you, check the box in Part I of Schedule R (Form 1040A
or 1040) for your filing status and age. Fill in Part II and
lines 11 and 13 of Part III if they apply to you. If you file
Form 1040A, enter “CFE” in the space to the left of
Form 1040A, line 30. If you file Form 1040, check box
c on Form 1040, line 53, and enter “CFE” on the line
next to that box. Attach Schedule R (Form 1040A or
1040) to your return.

a. You were permanently and totally disabled on the
date you retired. If you retired before 1977, you must
have been permanently and totally disabled on January
1, 1976, or January 1, 1977.
b. You received taxable disability income for 2011.
c. On January 1, 2011, you had not reached
mandatory retirement age (the age when your
employer’s retirement program would have required
you to retire).

What Is Permanent and Total
Disability?

For the definition of permanent and total disability,
see What Is Permanent and Total Disability? on this
page. Also, see the instructions for Part II.

A person is permanently and totally disabled if both 1
and 2 below apply.
1. He or she cannot engage in any substantial gainful
activity because of a physical or mental condition.
2. A qualified physician determines that the condition has lasted or can be expected to last continuously
for at least a year or can lead to death.

Married Persons Filing
Separate Returns
If your filing status is married filing separately and you
lived with your spouse at any time during 2011, you
cannot take the credit.

Examples 1 and 2, next, show situations in which the
individuals are considered engaged in a substantial
gainful activity. Example 3 shows a person who might
not be considered engaged in a substantial gainful activity. In each example, the person was under age 65 at the
end of the year.

Nonresident Aliens
If you were a nonresident alien at any time during 2011,
you may be able to take the credit only if your filing
status is married filing jointly.

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Cat. No. 11357O

Income Limits for the Credit for the Elderly or the Disabled
THEN you generally cannot take the credit if:
IF you are . . .

The amount on Form 1040A, line 22, or
Form 1040, line 38, is . . .
Or you received . . .

Single, head of household, or qualifying
widow(er) with dependent child

$17,500 or more

$5,000 or more of nontaxable social
security or other nontaxable pensions,
annuities, or disability income

Married filing jointly and only one
spouse is eligible for the credit

$20,000 or more

$5,000 or more of nontaxable social
security or other nontaxable pensions,
annuities, or disability income

Married filing jointly and both spouses
are eligible for the credit

$25,000 or more

$7,500 or more of nontaxable social
security or other nontaxable pensions,
annuities, or disability income

Married filing separately and you lived
apart from your spouse for all of 2011

$12,500 or more

$3,750 or more of nontaxable social
security or other nontaxable pensions,
annuities, or disability income

Example 1. Sue retired on disability as a sales clerk.
She now works as a full-time babysitter earning minimum wage. Although she does different work, Sue babysits on ordinary terms for the minimum wage. She
cannot take the credit because she is engaged in a substantial gainful activity.

plan that does not provide for disability retirement is not
disability income.
In figuring the credit, disability income does not include any amount you received from your employer’s
pension plan after you have reached mandatory retirement age.
For more details on disability income, see Pub. 525.

Example 2. Mary, the president of XYZ Corporation,
retired on disability because of her terminal illness. On
her doctor’s advice, she works part time as a manager
and is paid more than the minimum wage. Her employer
sets her days and hours. Although Mary’s illness is
terminal and she works part time, the work is done at
her employer’s convenience. Mary is considered engaged in a substantial gainful activity and cannot take
the credit.

Part II. Statement of
Permanent and Total Disability
If you checked box 2, 4, 5, 6, or 9 in Part I and you did
not file a physician’s statement for 1983 or an earlier
year, or you filed or got a statement for tax years after
1983 and your physician signed on line A of the statement, you must have your physician complete a statement certifying that:
• You were permanently and totally disabled on the
date you retired, or
• If you retired before 1977, you were permanently
and totally disabled on January 1, 1976, or January 1,
1977.
You do not have to file this statement with your tax
return. But you must keep it for your records. You can
use the physician’s statement later in these instructions
for this purpose. Your physician should show on the
statement if the disability has lasted or can be expected
to last continuously for at least a year, or if there is no
reasonable probability that the disabled condition will
ever improve. If you file a joint return and you checked
box 5 in Part I, you and your spouse must each get a
statement.
If you filed a physician’s statement for 1983 or an
earlier year, or you filed or got a statement for tax years
after 1983 and your physician signed on line B of the
statement, you do not have to get another statement for

Example 3. John, who retired on disability, took a job
with a former employer on a trial basis. The purpose of
the job was to see if John could do the work. The trial
period lasted for some time during which John was paid
at a rate equal to the minimum wage. But because of
John’s disability, he was given only light duties of a
nonproductive, make-work nature. Unless the activity is
both substantial and gainful, John is not engaged in a
substantial gainful activity. The activity was gainful
because John was paid at a rate at or above the minimum wage. However, the activity was not substantial
because the duties were of a nonproductive, make-work
nature. More facts are needed to determine if John is
able to engage in a substantial gainful activity.

Disability Income
Generally, disability income is the total amount you
were paid under your employer’s accident and health
plan or pension plan that is included in your income as
wages or payments instead of wages for the time you
were absent from work because of permanent and total
disability. However, any payment you received from a
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2011. But you must check the box on line 2 in Part II to
certify all three of the following.

filing jointly with his wife who was age 67 in 2011, and
he checked box 6 in Part I. On line 11, Bill enters
$9,000 ($5,000 plus the $4,000 of disability income he
reports on Form 1040, line 7).

1. You filed or got a physician’s statement in an
earlier year.
2. You were permanently and totally disabled during
2011.
3. You were unable to engage in any substantial
gainful activity during 2011 because of your physical or
mental condition.

Example 2. John checked box 2 in Part I and enters
$5,000 on line 10. He received $3,000 of taxable disability income, which he enters on line 11. John also
enters $3,000 on line 12 (the smaller of line 10 or line
11). The largest amount he can use to figure the credit is
$3,000.

If you checked box 4, 5, or 6 in Part I, enter in the
space above the box on line 2 in Part II the first name(s)
of the spouse(s) for whom the box is checked.
If the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) certifies
that you are permanently and totally disabled, you can
use VA Form 21-0172 instead of the physician’s statement. VA Form 21-0172 must be signed by a person
authorized by the VA to do so. You can get this form
from your local VA regional office.

Lines 13a Through 18
The amount on which you figure your credit can be
reduced if you received certain types of nontaxable
pensions, annuities, or disability income. The amount
can also be reduced if your adjusted gross income is
over a certain amount, depending on which box you
checked in Part I.
Line 13a. Enter any social security benefits (before deduction of Medicare premiums) you (and your spouse if
filing jointly) received for 2011 that are not taxable.
Also, enter any tier 1 railroad retirement benefits treated
as social security that are not taxable.

Part III. Figure Your Credit
Line 11

If any of your social security or equivalent railroad
retirement benefits are taxable, the amount to enter on
this line is generally the difference between the amounts
entered on Form 1040A, line 14a and line 14b, or Form
1040, line 20a and line 20b.

If you checked box 2, 4, 5, 6, or 9 in Part I, use the
following chart to complete line 11.
IF you checked . . .

THEN enter on line 11 . . .

Box 6

The total of $5,000 plus the
disability income you reported on
Form 1040A or 1040 for the
spouse who was under age 65.

Box 2, 4, or 9

The total amount of disability
income you reported on Form
1040A or 1040.

Box 5

The total amount of disability
income you reported on Form
1040A or 1040 for both you and
your spouse.

If your social security or equivalent railroad
retirement benefits are reduced because of
workers’ compensation benefits, treat the
workers’ compensation benefits as social security benefits when completing Schedule R (Form 1040A or
1040), line 13a.
Line 13b. Enter the total of the following types of income that you (and your spouse if filing jointly) received for 2011.
• Veterans’ pensions (but not military disability
pensions).
• Any other pension, annuity, or disability benefit
that is excluded from income under any provision of
federal law other than the Internal Revenue Code. Do

Example 1. Bill, age 63, retired on permanent and total
disability in 2011. He received $4,000 of taxable disability income that he reports on Form 1040, line 7. He is

Credit Limit Worksheet—Line 21

Keep for Your Records

Use this worksheet to figure your credit limit.
1. Enter the amount from Form 1040A, line 28; or Form 1040, line 46 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.
2. Enter the amount from Form 1040A, line 29; or Form 1040, lines 47 and 48 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.
3. Subtract line 2 from line 1. Enter this amount on Schedule R (Form 1040A or 1040), line 21. But if zero or
less, STOP, you cannot take this credit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.

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not include amounts that are treated as a return of your
cost of a pension or annuity.
Do not include on line 13b any 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. Also, do
not include a disability annuity payable under section
808 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980.

Instructions for Physician’s Statement
Taxpayer

Physician

If you retired after 1976, enter the date you retired in the
space provided on the statement below.

A person is permanently and totally disabled if both of
the following apply.
1. He or she cannot engage in any substantial gainful
activity because of a physical or mental condition.
2. A physician determines that the disability has
lasted or can be expected to last continuously for at least
a year or can lead to death.

Physician’s Statement

Keep for Your Records

I certify that
Name of disabled person
was permanently and totally disabled on January 1, 1976, or January 1, 1977, or was permanently and totally disabled on the
date he or she retired. If retired after 1976, enter the date retired. ©
Physician: Sign your name on either line A or B below.
A The disability has lasted or can be expected to last
continuously for at least a year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Physician’s signature

Date

Physician’s signature

Date

B There is no reasonable probability that the disabled
condition will ever improve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Physician’s name

Physician’s address

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