So—I've asked this question before in online tax forums: Are Mom's assisted living expenses tax deductible?
I had to move her into assisted living this year because she became unable to manage daily responsibilities such as cooking/cleaning/medications, etc., and she becomes bedridden and in need of emergency hospitalization if left on her own. With the provision of having others cooking and cleaning for her and administering her medications more properly for her, she has been thriving much better. I'm certain that she'd have been deceased by now without that assistance, and I think every medical professional we've been involved with would wholeheartedly agree. ↓
The hasty answer I've received is "Well, of course those expenses are deductible!" However, in reading further in TT topics and IRS pubs about what qualifies, the mere fact that she can no longer manage daily life/self-care on her own do not intrinsically qualify tax deductibility for the exorbitant cost of assisted living. The pubs I've read all make it sound like she needs to be there by reason of a more specific kind of illness with a specific care plan for the expenses to qualify as tax deductible (as would be the case with admittance to a nursing home, which is quite different from mere assisted living). New Mexico has a doctor-poor situation (with an alarming diaspora of doctors!), and we certainly have no deliberate care plan for her. ↓
Contrary to the positive tone taken by those with a hasty affirmative, however, the pubs I've read seem to imply that Mom's situation is no more tax deductible than the cost of wiper blades or Taco Bell. As she's spent almost $60K+ for this situation in the past ten months, I would of course very much prefer to be able to take advantage of any deductibility for those expenses—but don't want to go against the law (she's too old for prison!).
So, what's the real scoop here—should I just forget about researching deductibility for her ALF's and take the standard deduction, or am I overlooking something important?
