Tax credit for retirement income

A post from John Olesky on tax credit for retirement income.

The Ohio $250 tax credit is for retirement income credit ($200 maximum) and senior citizen credit ($50). Because the BJ pays our Aetna medical premium, we cannot deduct the part we pay, if any, on a separate line but must include it along with other excess medical expenses as a deduction, NOT a credit, on our Ohio income tax form. It includes our out-of-pocket expenses. Only the part that's over the 7.5% of your Ajusted Gross Income can be deducted. I use TaxACT, an online tax service where you just answer questions, and it automatically calculates the amount. In my case, the deduction was $1,566. It should be more for the 1040 I file for 2007 because we'll be paying four-figures more in prescription costs alone through Aetna, compared to United Health Care.

In any case, it's a hefty amount so all BJ retirees should be sure to include it on their Ohio tax forms. In my case, it reduced my Ohio taxes by $230, so it's worth doing.