@ritchb wrote:
We used Home Instead Senior Care both for me and my now deceased wife. Is all or part of the expense tax deductible?
You posted to an old topic that already has a long detailed answer to this question. Did you read the answer or did you skip it? If you read it, what part are you still unclear about?
You can only include as a medical expense, in-home care that qualifies as nursing care. Nursing care does not have to be provided by a nurse, but must be the kind of services that a nurse usually provides, such as assisting with eating, bathing, going to the toilet, or taking medications. If the aide performs other services, such as housekeeping, cooking or companionship, you will have to allocate the cost based on the percentage of time spent performing nursing services.
If you or your spouse meets the tests for chronically ill individual, you can deduct the entire cost of in-home care. These tests are:
1. the individual is chronically ill as certified by a doctor (has a long term illness that is permanent, or will last at least one year, or will lead to death.
2. the person requires assistance with 2 or more activities of daily living (ADLs are eating, dressing, bathing, toileting, transferring, and managing continence) OR the person requires assistance to prevent them from being a danger to themselves or others, due to cognitive impairment.
3. the care is provided according to a written care plan that is prepared by a qualified medical professional or social worker that is reviewed and updated at least once a year.
Even if you or your spouse are chronically ill, if you don't have a written care plan, you can only deduct the percentage of the time the aide spends performing nursing services.
However, if you can get a visiting nurse or a social worker who specializes in long term care to create a simple written care plan that includes the use of in-home services, then the entire cost of the aide would be a deductible medical expense starting on the date the care plan is written.
