Question

Can I deduct the $18,000 a year I provide my non-dependent 89 y/o Mothers medical expenses?

Forum|Forum|3 years ago
April 14, 2023
3 replies
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I provide around $18,000 a year (cash) to supplement my 89 y/o Mothers Medical expenses. (that is $1,500 a month at present and soon to raise). She has Alzheimer's Dementia and is in a Memory Care Facility. ALL of her retirement income goes to medical expenses and she has a short-fall of around $1,500 each month. First, is there anyway for me to claim a deduction for my providing her $1,500 a month? Or, is there a different way I should be providing this required cash support so that I CAN deduct this from my Federal Taxes next year? The cost is going to continue to raise.

TurboTax Premier Online

D

DianeW777

No, because she is not your dependent.

Whose Medical Expenses Can You Include?

You can generally include medical expenses you pay for yourself, as well as those you pay for someone who was your spouse or your dependent either when the services were provided or when you paid for them. There are different rules for decedents and for individuals who are the subject of multiple support agreements.

IRS Publication 502

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M

Mike9241

No. while the gross income test for a qualifying relative is waived you would still need to provide over 50% of her support.

Whose medical and dental expenses can you include?

• Any person you could have claimed as a dependent on your return except that person received $4,400 or more of gross income or filed a joint return.

Example. You provided over half of your parent's support but can't claim your parent as a dependent because they received wages of over $4,400 in 2022. You can include on line 1 any medical and dental expenses you paid in 2022 for your parent.

O

Opus 17

Employee

You can deduct medical expenses you pay for someone who is your tax dependent. You can also deduct medical expenses you pay for a parent who is not your tax dependent, as long as you pay more than half their total living expenses.

However, memory care is not automatically a medical expense. You can only deduct the cost of nursing and medical expenses, you can't deduct the cost of housekeeping, room and board, or companionship. Usually the facility will provide a cost breakdown for you.

However, the entire cost of the assisted living facility can be considered a deductible medical expense if the patient meets three tests.

1. They are chronically ill with a physical illness or a cogntive impairment (as certified by a doctor)

2. They require assistance with 2 or more activities of daily living. ADLs are eating, dressing, toileting, bathing, transferring, or managing continence.

3. Care is provided according to a written care plan that is developed by a qualified medical professional or social worker and that is reviewed and updated at least once a year.

Depending on their cognitive condition, they might qualify to deduct the entire cost of the facility now, or maybe that will come later if the condition progresses. But the written plan is a key step. Once they meet those conditions and you have a written care plan, the entire cost becomes a deductible medical expense.

Later, if the person steps up to a full nursing home, the entire cost is a deductible medical expense if the reason they are there is due to illness or cognitive impairment.