RamaB
New Member

Hi, I claim my mother as a dependent as I pay half her support. Can I deduct 1) a car I bought for her 2) Long term care insurance 3) medical expense I paid for her?

 
RamaB
New Member

Deductions & credits

Do her and our medical expenses get added to together to see if I meet the test to deduct them. I believe you can deduct over 10% of AGI, right? Is a long term care premium I paid for her added to medical expenses? She does not have significant income and does not need to file taxes. Thanks in advance!!

Deductions & credits

See this article for what can be deducted for long term care premiums: <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.elderlawanswers.com/irs-issues-long-term-care-premium-deductibility-limits-for-2016-15358...>
All medical expenses get added together. You can deduct the amount over 10% of AGI (7.5% for taxpayer 65 or over) as an itemized deduction. The total of all itemized deductions must be more than the standard deduction to get a tax benefit.

Deductions & credits

You can not deduct a car that you bought for her - that is a gift and it is not deductible. You can not claim her as a dependent unless she meets all of the requirements, here they are: Rules for Claiming an Exemption for a Dependent: - You cannot claim any dependents if you, or your spouse if filing jointly, could be claimed as a dependent by another taxpayer. - You cannot claim a married person who files a joint return as a dependent unless that joint return is only a claim for refund and there would be no tax liability for either spouse on separate returns. - You cannot claim a person as a dependent unless that person is a U.S. citizen, U.S. resident alien, U.S. national, or a resident of Canada or Mexico. - You cannot claim a person as a dependent unless that person is your qualifying child or qualifying relative. Test to be a Qualifying Child: 1. The child must be your son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother, stepsister, or a descendant of any of them. 2. The child must be (a) under age 19 at the end of the year and younger than you (or your spouse, if filing jointly), (b) under age 24 at the end of the year, a full-time student and younger than you (or your spouse, if filing jointly), (c) any age if permanently and totally disabled. 3. The child must have lived with you for more than half of the year (except for temporary absences such as for school) 4. The child must not have provided more than half of his or her support for the year. 5. The child is not filing a joint return for the year (unless that return is filed only as a claim for refund). 6. If the child meets the rules to be a qualifying child of more than one person, you must be the person entitled to claim the child as a qualifying child. Test to be a Qualifying Relative: 1. The person cannot be your qualifying child or the qualifying child of any other taxpayer. 2. The person either (a) be related to your in one of the following ways: Your child, stepchild, foster child, or a descendant of any of them Your brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother, or stepsister. Your father, mother, grandparent, or other direct ancestor, but not foster parent. Your stepfather or stepmother. A son or daughter of your brother or sister. A brother or sister of your father or mother. Your son-in-law, daughter-in-law, father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law. or (b) must live with you all year as a member of your household (and your relationship must not violate local law). 3. The person's gross income for the year must be less than $4,050 (social security does not count). 4. You must provide more than half of the person's total support for the year. There is a very good worksheet to help you determine how much support you provide. It is on page 16 of IRS Pub. 501 https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p501.pdf You can claim medical expense for her only if you can claim her as a dependent.

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RamaB
New Member

Deductions & credits

Will take a look, thanks!

Deductions & credits

You can also claim medical expenses for her if she met all the requirements to be claimed as your dependent except that her income was more than $4050.