(UNDATED) – Thanks to Indiana’s Unified Tax Credit for the Elderly, eligible taxpayers may be able to get a tax refund by filing one simple form.
To qualify for the credit, you (and/or your spouse) must have been age 65 or older by Dec. 31, 2018. Plus,
- If married and living together at any time during the year, you must file a joint return,
- The amount on line 1 of Form IT-40 must be less than $10,000,
- You must have been a resident of Indiana for at least six months, and
- You must not have been in prison for 180 days or more in 2018.
- The credit ranges from $40 to $140, depending on your income level and filing status.
Eligible Hoosiers who are not required to file an income tax return because their exemptions are more than their federal adjusted gross income can use Form SC-40 to claim a refund. This simple, one-page form must be filed no later than July 1, 2019. If you filed for the credit last year by using Form SC-40, the DOR will send a pre-filled form to you to use the following year. The pre-filled form increases accuracy and makes processing the refund faster. If you did not automatically get one, you may download it from the DOR website.
If you must file a regular tax return (say your income is greater than your exemptions, or you are eligible to claim another credit, etc.), but otherwise meet eligibility requirements for this credit, you should claim it when filing the Indiana tax return instead of filing the Form SC-40. The Indiana tax return is due by April 15.
The credit can be claimed only once each year. Filing both Form SC-40 and an Indiana tax return will delay the processing of any refund and could result in an unexpected tax bill and penalty when the tax return is corrected. DOR is scheduled to begin processing tax returns on Jan. 28, 2019.
Visit our website and see the IT-40 instruction book for more information on the simplified form for low-income seniors. Customers with additional questions can contact us at (317) 232-2240, 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. EST, Monday – Friday.
