There are annual limits on the amount of income you can have and still be able to claim the Credit for the Elderly or the Disabled. You cannot claim the credit if your income is over these amounts. There are different limits on the level of income that qualifies for the credit, based on filing status. For purposes of this credit, four different filing statuses are defined:
Single, head of household, or qualifying widow(er) with dependent child
Married filing jointly and both spouses qualify
Married filing jointly and one spouse qualified
Married filing separately and you did not live with your spouse at any time during the year
There are two different limits that apply for each of the above filing statuses. One limit is your adjusted gross income, and the other is the total of your nontaxable social security and other nontaxable pensions. You cannot claim the Credit for the Elderly or the Disables if either your adjusted gross income or your total social security and nontaxable pensions is over the corresponding limit.
These limits are indicated in the instructions and publications issued by the Internal Revenue Service each year. Tables of these limits on income can be found in the instructions for Schedule R (Form 1040) and Schedule 3 of Form 1040A, or in Publication 524, Credit for the Elderly or the Disabled.
Citizen or Resident
Generally a nonresident alien does not qualify for this credit. But if you are a nonresident alien who is married to a U.S. citizen or resident at the end of the year, and you and your spouse decide to treat you as a resident for tax purposes, you will be subject to U.S. income tax on your worldwide income, but you will also be eligible for this credit. You should make this choice taking into account all your income tax considerations.
Filing Status
If you are married at the end of the year, you and your spouse must generally file a joint return in order to claim the credit for the elderly or disabled. But if you and your spouse did not live in the same household at any time during the year, you can file either separately or jointly and still claim the credit.
You can file as head of household and claim the credit if you meet certain tests. If you were married, and your spouse lived with you during the first six months of the year, you can still qualify to take the credit if your spouse did not live in your home any time during the last six months of the year. You must have paid more than half the cost of keeping up your home for the year, and your home must have been the main home for more than half the year for your child, stepchild, or adopted child, or it must have been the main home for the entire year for your foster child.
Finally, you must have been able to claim an exemption for the child, or the only reason you could not claim an exemption was because you allowed your spouse to claim the exemption as the non-custodial parent (for example, by signing Form 8332, Release of Claim to Exemption for Child of Divorced or Separated Parents), you signed an agreement that went into effect before 1984 stating that your non-custodial spouse can claim the exemption without any conditions, such as payment of support, or your spouse as the non-custodial parent provided at least $600 of the child’s support and can claim the exemption based on a pre-1985 agreement.