As defined on the department of revenue website.
If homestead credit was only qualified by earned income that would disqualify folks who are retired and whose sole income is retirement dividends and social security which goes against the intention of the law. Fix this in your system.
- Household Income
Household income is all your income reportable for Wisconsin income tax purposes and all items specifically identified on lines 9a through 11j of Schedule H (lines 6a through 6i of Schedule H-EZ), less a deduction of $500 for each qualifying dependent who occupied your homestead for more than six months during 2021. If you were married and lived with your spouse during all of 2021, you must combine your income and that of your spouse to determine your total household income. If, during 2021, your spouse died, you became married or divorced, or you were separated from your spouse for all or part of the year (including one spouse living in a nursing home), see the special instructions on pages 22 through 24 of the Schedule H and H-EZ instruction booklet for how to determine your household income.
Note: "Household income" includes certain nontaxable income such as social security and supplemental security income (SSI) benefits; pensions and annuities; unemployment compensation; capital gains; contributions to IRAs and Keogh, SEP, SIMPLE, and deferred compensation plans; court-ordered support money and maintenance payments; scholarships, fellowships, and grants; military compensation; interest on U.S. government securities; county relief benefits; cash public assistance (Wisconsin Works (W2), Kinship care, etc.); and all depreciation and depletion claimed in computing Wisconsin taxable income. This list is not all-inclusive. Refer to the Schedule H, Homestead Credit Claim lines 9a through 11j, and the Schedule H and H-EZ instruction booklet for a list of "household income."
