What is the definition of disabled, for income tax purposes? The reason I ask, I have an eldery aunt who is 86 years old. She had one leg amputated about 5 years ago. She was temporarily in an assisted living facility but now lives in a senior apartment complex. All things considered she does fairly well, however she does have someone come in and help with her housekeeping, as there are everyday things she cannot do by herself. She does not receive any social security disability payments because she did not pay into the social security system to earn enough credits (she instead paid into the California state teachers retirement system for many years, and she now receives a monthly pension).

Would she qualify for the IRS definition of being disabled? And if she is considered disabled, I'm assuming here AGI will be too high from her pension to qualify for the the disability credit - would there be any other benefit(s) available to her?

Thank you,
Kevin

#1;The general rule for disability is that you must be totally and permanently disabled. Totally disabled means that you are unable to engage in any substantial gainful activity for pay or profit due to your physical or mental condition. Permanently means that a physician must certify that the condition has lasted or can reasonably be expected to last continuously for 12 months or longer.

#2; There is a Credit for the Elderly and Disabled but it is limited to low income elderly persons or disabled persons who have taxable disability income. Most ,but not all,disability income is non-taxable. In most cases, Social Security is non-taxable if it's your only source of income.