| Pub. 907, Tax Highlights for Persons with Disabilities |
2005 Tax Year |
Publication 907 - Main Contents
All income is taxable unless it is specifically excluded by law. The following discussions highlight some income items (both
taxable and
nontaxable) that are of particular interest to people with disabilities and those who care for people with disabilities.
You can exclude from income benefits provided under your employer's qualified dependent care assistance plan. You may be able
to exclude up to
$5,000. The care must be provided for:
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Your dependent under the age of 13, or
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Your spouse or dependent who is not able to care for himself or herself and who lives with you for more than one-half of
the tax
year.
For information about excluding benefits on Form 1040, see Form 2441, Child and Dependent Care Expenses, and its instructions.
For information
about excluding benefits on Form 1040A, see Schedule 2 (Form 1040A), Child and Dependent Care Expenses for Form 1040A Filers.
Social Security and Railroad Retirement Benefits
If you received social security or equivalent tier 1 railroad retirement benefits during the year, part of the amount you
received may be taxable.
Are any of your benefits taxable?
If the only income you received during the year was your social security or equivalent tier 1 railroad retirement
benefits, your benefits generally
are not taxable and you probably do not have to file a return.
If you received income during the year in addition to social security or equivalent tier 1 railroad retirement benefits,
part of your benefits may
be taxable if all of your other income, including tax-exempt interest, plus half of your benefits are more than:
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$25,000 if you are single, head of household, or qualifying widow(er),
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$25,000 if you are married filing separately and lived apart from your spouse for all of the year,
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$32,000 if you are married filing jointly, or
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$-0- if you are married filing separately and lived with your spouse at any time during the year.
For more information, see the instructions for Form 1040, lines 20a and 20b, or Form 1040A, lines 14a and 14b. Publication
915, Social Security and
Equivalent Railroad Retirement Benefits, contains more detailed information.
Supplemental security income (SSI) payments.
Social security benefits do not include SSI payments, which are not taxable. Do not include these payments in your
income.
Generally, you must report as income any amount you receive for your disability through an accident or health insurance plan
that is paid for by
your employer. If both you and your employer pay for the plan, report as income only the amount you receive for your disability
that is due to your
employer's payments. Your employer should be able to give you specific details about your pension plan and tell you the amount
you paid for your
disability pension.
If you paid the entire cost of the plan, do not report as income any amounts you get from the plan for your disability. See
Publication 525,
Taxable and Nontaxable Income, for more information.
Military and Government Disability Pensions
Generally, you must report disability pensions as income, but do not include certain military and government disability pensions.
For information
about military and government disability pensions, see Publication 525.
VA disability benefits.
Do not include disability benefits you receive from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in your gross income.
If you are a military retiree and
do not receive your disability benefits from the VA, see Publication 525 for more information.
Do not include in your income any veterans' benefits paid under any law, regulation, or administrative practice administered
by the VA. These
include:
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Education, training, or subsistence allowances,
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Disability compensation and pension payments for disabilities paid either to veterans or their families,
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Grants for homes designed for wheelchair living,
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Grants for motor vehicles for veterans who lost their sight or the use of their limbs,
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Veterans' insurance proceeds and dividends paid either to veterans or their beneficiaries, including the proceeds of a veteran's
endowment
policy paid before death, or
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Interest on insurance dividends left on deposit with the VA.
Rehabilitative program payments.
VA payments to hospital patients and resident veterans for their services under the VA's therapeutic or rehabilitative
programs are included as
income other than wages. These payments are reported on Form 1040, line 21.
You may receive other payments that are related to your disability. The following payments are not taxable.
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Benefit payments from a public welfare fund, such as payments due to blindness.
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Workers' compensation for an occupational sickness or injury if paid under a workers' compensation act or similar law.
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Compensatory (but not punitive) damages, for physical injury or physical sickness.
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Disability benefits under a “no-fault” car insurance policy for loss of income or earning capacity as a result of injuries.
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Compensation for permanent loss or loss of use of a part or function of your body, or for your permanent disfigurement.
Qualified long-term care insurance contracts generally are treated as accident and health insurance contracts. Amounts you
receive from them (other
than policyholder dividends or a premium refund) generally are excludable from income as amounts received for personal injury
or sickness. More
detailed information can be found in Publication 525.
Accelerated Death Benefits
You can exclude from income accelerated death benefits you receive on the life of an insured individual if certain requirements
are met.
Accelerated death benefits are amounts received under a life insurance contract before the death of the insured. These benefits
also include amounts
received on the sale or assignment of the contract to a viatical settlement provider. This exclusion applies only if the insured
was a terminally ill
individual or a chronically ill individual. For more information, see Publication 525.
If you file Form 1040, you generally can either claim the standard deduction or itemize your deductions. You must use Schedule
A (Form 1040) to
itemize your deductions. See your form instructions for information on the standard deduction and the deductions you can itemize.
The following
discussions highlight some itemized deductions that are of particular interest to persons with disabilities.
You can deduct medical and dental expenses for you, your spouse, and your dependents.
Medical expenses include payments you make for the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease and for
treatment affecting any
part or function of the body. They also include the cost of transportation for needed medical care and payments for medical
insurance.
You can deduct only the part of your medical and dental expenses that is more than 7.5% of your adjusted gross income shown
on Form 1040, line 38.
The following list highlights some of the medical expenses you may have for special items and equipment related to a disability.
For more detailed
information, see Publication 502, Medical and Dental Expenses.
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Artificial limbs, eyeglasses, and hearing aids.
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The part of the cost of Braille books and magazines that is more than the price of regular printed editions.
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Cost and repair of special telephone equipment for hearing-impaired persons.
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Cost of equipment that displays the audio part of television programs as subtitles for hearing-impaired persons.
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Cost and maintenance of a wheelchair or autoette.
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Cost and care of a guide dog or other animal aiding a person with a physical disability.
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A therapist or other person who gives “patterning” exercises to a mentally retarded child.
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A special school, if the main reason for using the school is its resources for relieving a mental or physical disability.
This includes the
cost of teaching and the cost of remedial language training to correct a condition caused by a birth defect.
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Premiums for qualified long-term care insurance, up to certain amounts.
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Improvements to a home that do not increase its value if the main purpose is medical care. An example is constructing entrance
or exit
ramps.
Improvements that do increase a home's value, if the main purpose is medical care, may be partly included as a medical expense.
See Publication 502
for more information.
Impairment-Related Work Expenses
If you are an employee and have a physical or mental disability that functionally limits your employment, or a physical or
mental impairment that
substantially limits one or more of your major life activities, you may be able to claim impairment-related work expenses.
These are your allowable
business expenses for attendant care at your workplace and other expenses in connection with your workplace that are necessary
for you to work.
If you have impairment-related work expenses, complete Form 2106, Employee Business Expenses, or Form 2106-EZ, Unreimbursed
Employee Business
Expenses, and attach it to your Form 1040.
Publication 529, Miscellaneous Deductions, contains more detailed information.
Generally, employee business expenses are subject to a 2%-of-adjusted-gross-income limit. However, impairment-related work
expenses are not subject
to the 2% limit.
This discussion highlights three tax credits that may be of interest to people with disabilities and those who care for people
with disabilities.
Child and Dependent Care Credit
Generally, if you pay someone to care for either your dependent under age 13 or your spouse or dependent who is not able to
care for himself or
herself, you may be able to get a credit of up to 35% of your expenses. To qualify, you must pay these expenses so you can
work or look for work.
You can claim the credit on Form 1040 or 1040A. You figure the credit on Form 2441 (Form 1040) or Schedule 2 (Form 1040A).
For more information, see the instructions for Form 1040, line 48, or Form 1040A, line 29. Publication 503, Child and Dependent
Care Expenses,
contains more detailed information.
Credit for the Elderly or the Disabled
You may be able to claim this credit if you are 65 or older or if you are under 65 and you retired on permanent and total
disability.
You can claim the credit on Form 1040 or 1040A. You figure the credit on Schedule R (Form 1040) or on Schedule 3 (Form 1040A).
For more information, see the instructions for Form 1040, line 49, or Form 1040A, line 30. Publication 524, Credit for the
Elderly or the Disabled,
contains more detailed information.
This credit is based on the amount of your earned income. But you can get the credit only if your earned income for 2005 was
less than:
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$11,750 ($13,750 for married filing jointly) and you did not have a qualifying child,
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$31,030 ($33,030 for married filing jointly) and you had one qualifying child, or
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$35,263 ($37,263 for married filing jointly) and you had more than one qualifying child.
To figure the credit, use the worksheet in the instructions for Form 1040, 1040A, or 1040EZ. If you have a qualifying child,
also complete Schedule
EIC, Earned Income Credit, and attach it to your Form 1040 or 1040A. You cannot use Form 1040EZ if you have a qualifying child.
Qualifying child.
A qualifying child must be under age 19 at the end of 2005, or a full-time student under age 24 at the end of 2005,
or permanently and totally
disabled at any time during 2005, regardless of age.
Earned income.
If you are retired on disability, benefits you receive under your employer's disability retirement plan are considered
earned income until you
reach minimum retirement age. However, payments you received from a disability insurance policy that you paid the premiums
for are not earned income.
More information.
For more information, including all the requirements to claim the credit, see the instructions for Form 1040, line
66a, Form 1040A, line 41a, or
Form 1040EZ, line 8a. Publication 596, Earned Income Credit (EIC), contains more detailed information.
Generally, if you pay someone to work in your home, such as a babysitter or housekeeper, you may be a household employer who
has to pay employment
taxes.
A person you hire through an agency is not your employee if the agency controls what work is done and how it is done. This
control could include
setting the fee, requiring regular reports, and providing rules of conduct and appearance. In this case you do not have to
pay employment taxes on the
amount you pay. But if you control what work is done and how it is done, the worker is your employee. If a worker is your
employee, it does not matter
that you hired the worker through an agency or from a list provided by an agency.
To find out if you have to pay employment taxes, see Publication 926, Household Employer's Tax Guide.
If you own or operate a business, or you are looking for work, you should be aware of the following three tax incentives for
businesses to help
persons with disabilities.
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Deduction for costs of removing barriers to the disabled and the elderly—This is a deduction a business can take for making
a facility or public transportation vehicle more accessible to and usable by persons who are disabled or elderly. See chapter
8 in Publication 535,
Business Expenses.
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Disabled access credit—This is a nonrefundable tax credit for an eligible small business that pays or incurs expenses to
provide access to persons with disabilities. The expenses must be to enable the eligible small business to comply with the
Americans with Disabilities
Act of 1990. See the instructions for Form 8826, Disabled Access Credit, for more information.
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Work opportunity credit—This credit provides businesses with an incentive to hire individuals from targeted groups that
have a particularly high unemployment rate or other special employment needs. One targeted group consists of vocational rehabilitation
referrals.
These are individuals who have a physical or mental disability that results in a substantial handicap to employment. See the
instructions for Form
5884, Work Opportunity Credit, for more information. Under current law, an employer cannot claim the credit for the wages
of an employee who begins
work for the employer after 2005.
You can get help with unresolved tax issues, order free publications and forms, ask tax questions, and get information from
the IRS in several
ways. By selecting the method that is best for you, you will have quick and easy access to tax help.
Contacting your Taxpayer Advocate.
If you have attempted to deal with an IRS problem unsuccessfully, you should contact your Taxpayer Advocate.
The Taxpayer Advocate independently represents your interests and concerns within the IRS by protecting your rights
and resolving problems that
have not been fixed through normal channels. While Taxpayer Advocates cannot change the tax law or make a technical tax decision,
they can clear up
problems that resulted from previous contacts and ensure that your case is given a complete and impartial review.
To contact your Taxpayer Advocate:
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Call the Taxpayer Advocate toll free at
1-877-777-4778.
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Call, write, or fax the Taxpayer Advocate office in your area.
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Call 1-800-829-4059 if you are a
TTY/TDD user.
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Visit
www.irs.gov/advocate.
For more information, see Publication 1546, How To Get Help With Unresolved Tax Problems (now available in Chinese,
Korean, Russian, and
Vietnamese, in addition to English and Spanish).
Free tax services.
To find out what services are available, get Publication 910, IRS Guide to Free Tax Services. It contains a list of
free tax publications and an
index of tax topics. It also describes other free tax information services, including tax education and assistance programs
and a list of TeleTax
topics.
Internet. You can access the IRS website 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, at
www.irs.gov to:
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E-file your return. Find out about commercial tax preparation and e-file services available free to eligible
taxpayers.
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Check the status of your 2005 refund. Click on Where's My Refund. Be sure to wait at least 6 weeks from the date you filed your
return (3 weeks if you filed electronically). Have your 2005 tax return available because you will need to know your social
security number, your
filing status and the exact whole dollar amount of your refund.
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Download forms, instructions, and publications.
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Order IRS products online.
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Research your tax questions online.
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Search publications online by topic or keyword.
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View Internal Revenue Bulletins (IRBs) published in the last few years.
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Figure your withholding allowances using our Form W-4 calculator.
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Sign up to receive local and national tax news by email.
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Get information on starting and operating a small business.
Phone. Many services are available by phone.
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Ordering forms, instructions, and publications. Call 1-800-829-3676 to order current-year forms, instructions, and publications
and prior-year forms and instructions. You should receive your order within 10 days.
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Asking tax questions. Call the IRS with your tax questions at 1-800-829-1040.
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Solving problems. You can get face-to-face help solving tax problems every business day in IRS Taxpayer Assistance Centers. An
employee can explain IRS letters, request adjustments to your account, or help you set up a payment plan. Call your local
Taxpayer Assistance Center
for an appointment. To find the number, go to
www.irs.gov/localcontacts or
look in the phone book under United States Government, Internal Revenue Service.
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TTY/TDD equipment. If you have access to TTY/TDD equipment, call 1-800-829-4059 to ask tax questions or to order forms and
publications.
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TeleTax topics. Call 1-800-829-4477 and press 2 to listen to pre-recorded messages covering various tax topics.
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Refund information. If you would like to check the status of your 2005 refund, call 1-800-829-4477 and press 1 for automated
refund information or call 1-800-829-1954. Be sure to wait at least 6 weeks from the date you filed your return (3 weeks if
you filed electronically).
Have your 2005 tax return available because you will need to know your social security number, your filing status and the
exact whole dollar amount of
your refund.
Evaluating the quality of our telephone services. To ensure that IRS representatives give accurate, courteous, and professional answers,
we use several methods to evaluate the quality of our telephone services. One method is for a second IRS representative to
sometimes listen in on or
record telephone calls. Another is to ask some callers to complete a short survey at the end of the call.
Walk-in. Many products and services are available on a walk-in basis.
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Products. You can walk in to many post offices, libraries, and IRS offices to pick up certain forms, instructions, and
publications. Some IRS offices, libraries, grocery stores, copy centers, city and county government offices, credit unions,
and office supply stores
have a collection of products available to print from a CD-ROM or photocopy from reproducible proofs. Also, some IRS offices
and libraries have the
Internal Revenue Code, regulations, Internal Revenue Bulletins, and Cumulative Bulletins available for research purposes.
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Services. You can walk in to your local Taxpayer Assistance Center every business day for personal, face-to-face tax help. An
employee can explain IRS letters, request adjustments to your tax account, or help you set up a payment plan. If you need
to resolve a tax problem,
have questions about how the tax law applies to your individual tax return, or you're more comfortable talking with someone
in person, visit your
local Taxpayer Assistance Center where you can spread out your records and talk with an IRS representative face-to-face. No
appointment is necessary,
but if you prefer, you can call your local Center and leave a message requesting an appointment to resolve a tax account issue.
A representative will
call you back within 2 business days to schedule an in-person appointment at your convenience. To find the number, go to
www.irs.gov/localcontacts or
look in the phone book under United States Government, Internal Revenue Service.
Mail. You can send your order for forms, instructions, and publications to the National Distribution Center and receive a response
within 10 business days after your request is received.
National Distribution Center
P.O. Box 8903
Bloomington, IL 61702-8903
CD-ROM for tax products. You can order Publication 1796, IRS Federal Tax Products CD-ROM, and obtain:
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A CD that is released twice so you have the latest products. The first release ships in late December and the final release
ships in late
February.
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Current-year forms, instructions, and publications.
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Prior-year forms, instructions, and publications.
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Tax Map: an electronic research tool and finding aid.
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Tax law frequently asked questions (FAQs).
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Tax Topics from the IRS telephone response system.
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Fill-in, print, and save features for most tax forms.
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Internal Revenue Bulletins.
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Toll-free and email technical support.
Buy the CD-ROM from National Technical Information Service (NTIS) at
www.irs.gov/cdorders for $25 (no handling fee) or call 1-877-233-6767 toll free to buy the CD-ROM for $25 (plus a $5 handling fee).
CD-ROM for small businesses. Publication 3207, The Small Business Resource Guide CD-ROM for 2005, has a new look and enhanced navigation
features. This year's CD includes:
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Helpful information, such as how to prepare a business plan, find financing for your business, and much more.
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All the business tax forms, instructions, and publications needed to successfully manage a business.
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Tax law changes for 2005.
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IRS Tax Map to help you find forms, instructions, and publications by searching on a keyword or topic.
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Web links to various government agencies, business associations, and IRS organizations.
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“Rate the Product” survey—your opportunity to suggest changes for future editions.
An updated version of this CD is available each year in early April. You can get a free copy by calling 1-800-829-3676 or
by visiting
www.irs.gov/smallbiz.
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