My father met with an accident and he went into Coma last October. I had to fly to India to take care of him as he had nobody else to take care and I paid almost 10K USD hospital bill. He is not my dependent as a US Citizen or Resident Alien. But, he lives in India. I also spent almost 2500 USD for my flight ticket as it was immediate and then stayed there at a hotel as the house was not in a liveable condition. So, I spent another $1000 on my boarding and lodging.
In December he passed away at the hospital and I went back again with my wife the same day I got the information flying from here to India spending USD 5000 airline ticket for both of us and flew economy only not business and completed his burial and came back.
Now, my expenses from October until January 20th, 2023 was around $20,000. Can I deduct this under Medical expenses as he was being cared by me but he lives in India and also the lodging and boarding for those 3 weeks in October and 3 weeks in January 2023? This will be really helpful for me as a child taking care of an elderly parent.
I went through this article
A qualifying relative is a person:
Who is your:
Son, daughter, stepchild, or foster child, or a descendant of any of them (for example, your grandchild),
Brother, sister, half brother, half sister, or a son or daughter of any of them,
Father, mother, or an ancestor or sibling of either of them (for example, your grandmother, grandfather, aunt, or uncle),
Stepbrother, stepsister, stepfather, stepmother, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law, or
Any other person (other than your spouse) who lived with you all year as a member of your household if your relationship didn't violate local law,
Who wasn't a qualifying child (see Qualifying Child, earlier) of any taxpayer for 2021, and
For whom you provided over half of the support in 2021. But see Child of divorced or separated parents, earlier, Support claimed under a multiple support agreement next, and Kidnapped child under Qualifying Relative in Pub. 501, Dependents, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information.
