What deductions can I take for a dependent adult with a disability?

Forum|Forum|7 years ago
June 3, 2019
3 replies
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My son has a disability and lives with me full time. I provide support including living expenses, medical and transportation. He receives SSI benefits and is on medicaid. Do I need to file a separate return for his SSI benefits or should it be included in my return? If included in my return, what other deductions can I take other than claiming him as a dependent?

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Best answer by MargaretL

There are two tax benefits for claiming a disabled dependent. You can deduct his medical expenses, and if your son is mentally or physically incapable of self-care, you can claim child and dependent care credit if you paid any expenses to an individual so that you can work or go to school full time.

The tax benefit for a disabled dependent is also in the fact that you can claim him as your dependent regardless of his age. Other than above, there are no specific deductions just for being disabled.

As to his SSI benefits - they are never reported on your tax return. And if that is your son's only income, he doesn't have to file his tax return, either.

MargaretLAnswer

Level 12

As to his SSI benefits - they are never reported on your tax return. And if that is your son's only income, he doesn't have to file his tax return, either.

JoeC66

Level 2

I am in a similar situation. I have a disabled 20 year old. She has epilepsy and has never had a job, lives at home and we support her completely. Is it as simple as marking disabled in the app doing it, or is there some sort of required status that she needs to have. For instance, do we need to have her legally made disabled in a court? Does she need to be on social security? I have FMLA paperwork filled out every year with her doctors. We have some stuff filled out for them for getting her disability and social security but have never actually completed it. It would be great to get the other deduction but I am very scared to mark it and move on. The last thing I need is the government coming after me.

Lynn James

Level 2

My adult son is 100% disabled, and I am his sole caregiver and support except for SSI. Can I take deductions myself, without losing health care or SSI

xmasbaby0

Level 15

@Lynn James You have not mentioned what kind of income you are receiving. It seems like you are saying your son gets SSI. Do you also receive SSI or do you have some other kind of income? If so---what income are you receiving? There are no credits or deductions unless you have taxable income.

And as for the effect on your son's SSI if you claim him as a dependent----that is a question to ask Social Security. We cannot say if his benefits would be affected by being claimed as a dependent.

And.....is he receiving SSI or Social Security? They are not the same thing, but people often mix up those terms. When we are trying to answer a tax question we need to know which one you really have.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS AND SSI?

https://www.ssa.gov/ssi/text-over-ussi.htm

**Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**