Homestead Credit Wisconsin

[la46]

Can I file the schedule H-EZ for the homestead credit in WI? How does that work do i mail that copy to Madison or can I file it through turbotax?

[LenaH]

To qualify for homestead credit for 2021 you must meet the following requirements:

• You are a legal resident of Wisconsin for all of 2021, from January 1 through December 31.
• You are 18 years of age or older on December 31, 2021.
• You have less than $24,680 in household income for 2021. See the definition of "household income".)
• You meet one of the following conditions:
  • You (or your spouse, if married, and reside in the same household) have positive earned income during the year. (See definition of "earned income".)
  • You (or your spouse, if married, and reside in the same household) are disabled. (See definition of "​disabled​".)
  • You (or your spouse, if married) are 62 years of age or older at the end of 2021.
• You own or rent your Wisconsin homestead that is subject to Wisconsin property taxes during 2021. (Persons who reside in mobile or manufactured homes or nursing homes that are subject to property taxes may also qualify to file a claim. See the definition of "homestead".)
• You are not claimed as a dependent on someone else's 2021 federal income tax return.
  Note: This limitation does not apply if you were 62 years of age or over on December 31, 2021.
• You did not live for the entire 2021 year in housing that is exempt from property taxes.
  Note: Property owned by a municipal housing authority is not considered tax-exempt for homestead credit purposes if that authority makes payments in place of property taxes to the city or town in which it is located. If you live in public housing, you should check with your rental manager.
• At the time of filing a claim, you are not living in a nursing home and receiving Title XIX medical assistance.
• You are not claiming Wisconsin farmland preservation credit for 2021.
• You are not claiming the veterans and surviving spouses property tax credit on 2021 real estate taxes.
• Only one claim may be filed per household. A married couple residing together is one household. (See the definition of "household.")
• You are not filing a claim on behalf of a person after his or her death.
• You have not received Wisconsin Works (W2) payments of any amount or county relief payments of $400 or more for each month of 2021.

If you meet all of the qualifications, you must complete a Wisconsin Homestead Credit Claim, Schedule H or Schedule H-EZ, to determine the amount of any benefit available.

You may file Schedule H-EZ if:

• You (and your spouse, if married) have taxable and nontaxable income only from the following sources:
  1. Wages, salaries, tips, etc. (if any of your wages, salaries, tips, etc., are not taxable to Wisconsin, you cannot file on Schedule H-EZ)
  2. Interest and dividends
  3. Unemployment compensation
  4. Pensions, annuities, and other retirement plan distributions
  5. Social security benefits (including federal and state SSI, SSI-E, SSD, and caretaker supplement payments)
  6. Railroad retirement benefits
  7. Alimony, child support, and family maintenance
  8. Wisconsin Works (W2), county relief, kinship care, and other cash public assistance
  9. Gambling winnings (if your gambling winnings are reported on federal Schedule C or C-EZ, you cannot file on Schedule H-EZ) 
• During 2021 you (and your spouse, if married) did not repay any amount that was included as nontaxable household income on a prior year's homestead credit claim
• You did not become married or divorced during 2021
• You (and your spouse, if married) were a legal resident of Wisconsin from January 1 through December 31, 2021
• You (and your spouse, if married) did not maintain separate homes during any part of 2021 (including one spouse in a nursing home)
• Your home was used only for personal purposes while you lived there in 2021 (for example, no rental or business use, or use of a separate unit by others rent free)
• Your home was located on one acre of land or less
• You did not sell your home during 2021

If you cannot file on Schedule H-EZ, you must file on Schedule H. Depending on your tax situation would determine which form you would use.

Schedule H-Z or Schedule H can be filed with your state return. You can upload the PDF of your 2021 property tax bill (if you owned and occupied your home) or an original rent certificate signed by your landlord (if you rented your home) along with your Schedule H or H-EZ into TurboTax. 

To access your Homestead Credit on TurboTax and upload the necessary documentation, please follow the prompts shown here.

[la46]

Thank you but I have read that 20x I think and I am still a little lost. So I can file that form (H-HZ) with TurboTax I do not have to mail anything? If I upload the documents I do not have to do anything else correct? 

[LenaH]

Yes, that is correct. You would not have to mail anything. Schedule H or Schedule H-EZ would be filed with your return and your backup documentation that you uploaded would also be transmitted. 

You would only have to mail in Schedule H or Schedule H-EZ if you already filed your Wisconsin income tax return and now wish to file a claim for homestead credit after the return was completed. 

@la46

[la46]

I see! Thank you so much. 

[jmvertz]

I think this is wrong. Turbo Tax won't let you claim homestead if you had unemployment because it is not defined as 'earned income' but the state of Wisconsin says you are eligible if you paid 'taxable income' which should include unemployment. This link is my source. 

Turbo Tax needs to fix this. https://www.revenue.wi.gov/Pages/FAQS/ise-home.aspx#home1

[MayaD]

Did you have any earned Income in 2021?

Unemployment is included in the calculation of your taxable income but it is not considered earned income.

One the requirements to claim the credit is to meet one of the following conditions:

• You (or your spouse, if married, and reside in the same household) have positive earned income during the year. (See definition of "earned income".)
• You (or your spouse, if married, and reside in the same household) are disabled. (See definition of "​disabled​".)
• You (or your spouse, if married) are 62 years of age or older at the end of 2021.

[jmvertz]

This is incorrect in your system. What qualifies you in Wisconsin for homestead credit is "taxable income" not "earned income" according to the law. See the link I posted. I did not have "earned income" because my business posted a loss, but I did have 'Taxable income" from unemployment. Therefore I should be able to qualify for the homestead credit. I will not be paying to file with your program this year because of this error in your system. 

[jmvertz]

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."

[DMarkM1]

Some taxpayers still have to have "positive earned income" to qualify.  The extract you have is to calculate the "Household income" level which is also a qualification.  Here is a link to the WI DOR FAQ which states:

• You have less than $24,680 in household income for 2021. See the definition of "household income".
• You meet one of the following conditions:
  • You (or your spouse, if married, and reside in the same household) have positive earned income during the year. (See definition of "earned income".)
  • You (or your spouse, if married, and reside in the same household) are disabled. (See definition of "​disabled​".)
  • You (or your spouse, if married) are 62 years of age or older at the end of 2021.

[Tgeneman]

We are not married so how do I file for homestead credit.