Your mother can deduct medical expenses on her tax return (I assume someone is helping her with that). Medical expenses include nursing care. Nursing care does not have to be provided by a nurse, but needs to be the kind of care usually provided by a nurse, such as assistance with toileting, bathing, feeding, wound care, taking medication, and so on. If the aide also provides non-nursing services, like companionship, meal prep, cleaning, and so on, those expenses are not deductible, and you will have to allocate the expenses accordingly. It sounds like the aide company has given you that information.
Other medical expenses your mother might have include co-pays for doctor visits and medications, and her Medicare insurance premiums that may be deducted from her social security check. There is no special risk to deducting medical expenses. However, the actual tax benefit will depend on her overall income and other itemized deductions, such as mortgage interest, property taxes, state income taxes, and gifts to charity.
