IT-221: Disability Income Exclusion (2024)
New York · NY DTF · Used for tax years 2024
Form IT-221 calculates the disability income exclusion for New York State, New York City, and Yonkers. It reports disability pay received by you and, if applicable, your spouse, applies the exclusion limit, and includes a physician’s statement of permanent and total disability.
Who files this form
Use Form IT-221 to claim the disability income exclusion with your New York Form IT-201 or IT-203 for tax year 2024.
Enter your disability income in Column A. If you are married and your spouse also received disability income, enter your spouse’s amounts in Column B.
The form requires a physician’s statement unless you qualify to use the statement-of-permanent-and-total-disability checkbox instead. For exclusion limits and special rules for married taxpayers filing separately, the form refers you to Form IT-221-I, which is not included in the supplied text.
What you'll need
Have the following information and forms ready:
- Your name and Social Security number as shown on your return.
- Your employer’s name and the payer’s name, if different.
- Your retirement date and your spouse’s retirement date, if applicable.
- Total disability pay received in 2024, including payment amounts for full and partial weeks.
- The amount from Form IT-201, line 19, or Form IT-203, line 19, Federal amount column.
- Form IT-225, where you report the exclusion.
- A completed physician’s statement, if required. If both spouses take the exclusion, the form calls for a statement for each spouse, subject to the prior-statement exception.
How to file
- Complete the identifying information and the applicable disability-income columns on Form IT-221.
- Calculate excludable disability pay on lines 2 through 6, then apply the exclusion limit on lines 7 through 10.
- Enter the exclusion on line 11. If both spouses received disability pay, the form directs you to the instructions for proration.
- Transfer the total of line 11, Columns A and B, to Form IT-225, line 10, Total amount column. Enter subtraction modification S-124 in the Number column.
- Submit Form IT-221 with Form IT-201 or IT-203. If a physician’s statement is required, have your physician complete it and submit both front and back pages with your return.
The supplied text does not provide a mailing address or e-filing directions.
Common mistakes
- Continuing when the form says to stop: If line 9 is larger than line 6, you cannot claim a disability income exclusion.
- Missing the spouse checkbox: Mark the box if you did not live with your spouse during any part of the tax year.
- Skipping the separate-return instructions: If you use filing status 3, Married filing separate return, the form directs you to the instructions.
- Leaving out a required physician’s statement: If you do not mark the prior-statement exception box, have your physician complete the statement and submit both pages.
- Marking both physician boxes: The physician must mark only one box, A or B, and sign the statement.
Questions people ask
What does “permanently and totally disabled” mean on this form?
A person cannot engage in any substantial gainful activity because of a physical or mental condition. A physician must determine that the disability has lasted or is expected to last continuously for at least a year, or can be expected to lead to death.
Do I need a new physician’s statement every year?
Not necessarily. You may mark the exception box if you filed a physician’s statement for this disability for tax year 1984, or filed one for a later tax year with box B marked, and your continued disability prevented substantial gainful activity in 2024. If you mark that box, you do not need another physician’s statement for 2024.
How does the form calculate weekly excludable disability pay?
Line 2 uses $100 for each week when disability payments were at least $100. Line 3 uses the actual total for weeks when payments were less than $100. For partial weeks, line 4 uses the smaller of the payment received or the highest allowable exclusion for that period, referring you to the instructions.
Can my income reduce the exclusion?
Yes. Lines 7 through 9 calculate the amount by which your Form IT-201 or IT-203 line 19 amount exceeds $15,000, using zero if it does not exceed that amount. Line 10 subtracts that result from the combined excludable disability pay on line 6.