2 • SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2022 • CAREGIVER
SAVVY SENIOR
Jim Miller talks about writing off caregiving
expenses, the shingles vaccine and more
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
incapable of self-care and must
have lived with you for more than
six months. To claim this tax credit,
fill out IRS Form 2441 (IRS.gov/
pub/irs-pdf/f2441.pdf) when you
file your federal return.
Flexible health savings
accounts
If you have a health savings
account or your employer offers a
flexible savings account, you can
use them to pay for your mom’s
medical expenses if she qualifies
as a dependent. But be aware that
if you use an HSA or FSA to pay
for your mom’s medical costs,
you can’t take a tax deduction on
those expenses too.
For more information, see IRS
Publication 969, “Health Savings
Accounts and Other Tax-Favored
Health Plans” at IRS.gov/pub/
irs-pdf/p969.pdf.
•••
Dear Savvy Senior,
How effective is the shingles vaccine and
what is the CDC recommendation for
getting it? My older brother and sister,
both in their 50s, got covid a few months
back, followed by shingles. Do you know
if there is a connection between these
viruses, and would the shingles vaccine
have protected them?
— Scared of Shingles
Dear Scared,
Great question! Many healthcare
professionals across the
country have been urging their
older patients to get the shingles
vaccine (in addition to the
covid-19 vaccinations) during
the pandemic because getting
covid-19 can increase your chances
of developing shingles. And the
more severe case of covid you get,
the greater your risk for shingles.
The reason for this is because
when you contract covid-19, your
immune system becomes compromised
fighting off the virus,
which gives shingles — a virus
that already exists in your body
if you’ve had chickenpox — a
chance to reactivate.
Here’s what you should know
about shingles, the shingles vaccine
and the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention recommendations.
What are Shingles?
Shingles, also known as herpes
zoster, is a burning, blistering
skin rash that affects around
1 million Americans each year.The same virus that causes chickenpox
causes shingles. What happens
is the chickenpox virus that
most people get as kids never
leaves the body. It hides in the
nerve cells near the spinal cord
and, for some people, emerges
later in the form of shingles.
In the U.S., about one out of
every three people will develop
shingles during their lifetime.
While anyone who’s had chickenpox
can get shingles, it most
commonly occurs in people over
age 50, along with people who
have weakened immune systems.But you can’t catch shingles from
someone else.
Early signs of the disease include
pain, itching or tingling
before a blistering rash appears
several days later, and can last up
to four weeks. The rash typically
occurs on one side of the body,
often as a band of blisters that
extends from the middle of your
back around to the breastbone.
It can also appear above an eye
or on the side of the face or neck.
In addition to the rash, about
20 percent to 25 percent of those
who get shingles go on to develop
severe nerve pain (postherpetic
neuralgia, or PHN) that can last
for months or even years. And
in rare cases, shingles can also
cause strokes, encephalitis, spinal
cord damage and vision loss.
Shingles vaccine
The vaccine for shingles called
Shingrix (see Shingrix.com) provides
much better protection
METRO CREATIVE
by JIM MILLER