4 • SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2022 • CAREGIVER
Jim Miller talks about writing off caregiving
expenses, the shingles vaccine and more
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Dear Savvy Senior,
Are there any tax breaks that you know
of for family caregivers? I help financially
support my 82-year-old mother and
would like to find out if I can write any of
these expenses off on my taxes.
— Supplemental Sam
Dear Sam,
There are actually several tax
credits and deductions available
to adult children who help look
after their aging parents or other
relatives. Here are some options
along with the IRS requirements
to help you determine if you’re
eligible to receive them.
Tax credit for other
dependents
If your mom lives with you
and you’re paying more than 50
percent of her living expenses
(housing, food, utilities, health
care, repairs, clothing, travel and
other necessities), and her 2021
gross income was under $4,300,
you can claim your mom as a dependent
and get a non-refundable
tax credit of up to $500.
If you happen to split your
mom’s expenses with other siblings,
only one of you can claim
your mom as a dependent, and
that person must pay at least 10
percent of her support costs. This
is called a multiple support agreement.
The IRS has an interactive tool
that will help you determine if
your mom qualifies as a dependent.
Go to IRS.gov/help/ita,
scroll down to “Credits,” and
click on “Does My Child/Dependent
Qualify for the Child Tax
Credit or the Credit for Other
Dependents?”
Medical deductions
If you claim your mom as a
dependent and you help pay her
medical, dental and/or long-term
care expenses and weren’t reimbursed
by insurance, you can
deduct the expenses that are more
than 7.5 percent of your adjusted
gross income.
So, for example, if your adjusted
gross income is $80,000, anything
beyond the first $6,000 of
your mom’s medical bills — or
7.5 percent of your AGI — could
be deductible on your return.So, if you paid $8,000 in medical
bills for her, $2,000 of it could be
deductible. You can also include
your own medical expenses in
calculating the total.
You should also know that
your state might have a lower
AGI threshold, which means you
might get a break on your state
income taxes even if you can’t get
one on your federal income taxes.
To see which medical expenses
you can and can’t deduct, see IRS
Publication 502 at IRS.gov/pub/
irs-pdf/p502.pdf.
Dependent care credit
If you’re paying for in-home
care or adult daycare for your
mom so you are free to work, you
might qualify for the Dependent
Care Tax Credit, which can be
worth as much as $4,000.
To be eligible, your mom must
have been physically or mentally
METRO CREATIVE incapable of self-care and must
by JIM MILLER
rmhcpgh-mgtn.org/donate
Keeping families together when
they need each other most .
Pittsburgh and Morgantown