@NCperson wrote:
if the assisted living parent can be claimed as a dependent of their adult child's tax return, that adult child can deduct all those medical expenses (subject to the 7.5% limit).
The child can deduct medical expenses that the child paid for a parent who is the child's dependent. The child cannot deduct medical expenses that were paid by the parent, even if the parent is a dependent of the child. See "Whose Medical Expenses Can You Include?" in Pub. 502.
Also note that if the child claims a deduction for medical expenses that the child paid for a dependent parent, the expenses for the parent will be included in the total medical expenses on the child's tax return. That total will be reduced by 7.5% of the child's AGI. The dependent parent's AGI is not used in calculating the deduction on the child's tax return.
