Yes. It is possible to take a deduction for the medical expenses
that you paid in 2016 for your brother, even though you are not claiming him as a dependent on your tax return, if you meet the requirements on pages 3-4 of
Pub 502 under the headings, "whose medical expenses can you include"
and "dependents". Additionally, the deduction that you can take for
medical expenses is limited and you would also have to qualify to itemize your
deductions.
According to pages 3-4 of Pub 502 under
the heading, "dependent", "you can include medical expenses you
paid for your dependent. For you to include these expenses, the person must have
been your dependent either at the time the medical services were provided or at
the time you paid the expenses. A person generally qualifies as your dependent for purposes of the
medical expense deduction if both of the following requirements are met. 1) the person was a qualifying
child or a qualifying relative AND 2) the person was a US citizen, or national
or a resident of the United States Canada, or Mexico. If your qualifying child
was adopted, see "exception for adopted child". https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p502.pdf
Please refer
to page 4 of Pub 502 under the headings "qualifying child" and
"qualifying relative" to determine if you meet the requirements for
either of these.
To itemize your deductions, you
would have to have personal expenses such as medical and dental expenses,
mortgage interest, real estate taxes, unreimbursed job expenses and certain
miscellaneous expenses, and charitable contributions that when combined together,
total more than your standard deduction. For example if you file single, your
standard deduction is $6300 so you would have to have personal expenses that
total more than $6300.
You can only claim a deduction for the
medical and dental expenses that you paid in 2016 that are in
excess of 10% of your adjusted gross income OR in excess of
7.5% of your adjusted gross income if you were at least 65 years old as of the
end of 2016. Additionally there are specific requirements that have to be met to deduct transportation expenses. Please refer to page 14 of pub 502 under the heading, "transportation" for additional information.
