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No. You cannot deduct the rent you pay. If you are paying for over half his support you can claim him as a dependent for the $500 credit for other dependents.
IRS interview to help determine who can be claimed:
https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/who-can-i-claim-as-a-dependent
https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/3113432-who-can-i-claim-as-my-dependent
CREDIT FOR OTHER DEPENDENTS
First, your brother must be a qualifying relative to be claimed as a dependent. Then you have to have qualifying medical expenses. Rent alone is not an expense but part of it may be considered medical. Where he lives can tell you that how much is medical care versus rent.
If he is a qualifying relative, claim him on your return.
Qualifying Relative
A qualifying relative is a person:
1. Who is your: a. Son, daughter, stepchild, or foster child, or a descendant of any of them (for example, your grandchild), b. Brother, sister, half brother, half sister, or a son or daughter of any of them, c. Father, mother, or an ancestor or sibling of either of them (for example, your grandmother, grandfather, aunt, or uncle), d. Stepbrother, stepsister, stepfather, stepmother, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law, or e. Any other person (other than your spouse) who lived with you all year as a member of your household if your relationship didn't violate local law,
2. Who wasn't a qualifying child (see Qualifying Child, earlier) of any taxpayer for 2019, and
3. For whom you provided over half of the support in 2019.
But see Child of divorced or separated parents, earlier, Support claimed under a multiple support agreement next, and Kidnapped child under Qualifying Relative in Pub. 501, Dependents,
Please see pub 502, page 2 for more details. If he has qualifying medical expenses, you can claim them on your return.
He is living in a Board & Care where the staff assists with medical needs, special meals, hygiene & bathing, and is responsible for his safety. They assist him in bathroom duties and a lot of other jobs. They assist him in getting into and out of bed. He cannot physically do any of the above on his own any longer, due to his medical condition. Thank you for your response in advance!
Even if the rent includes all of his care 24/7? Including getting him into and out of bed, trips and assistance in the bathroom, bathing and hygiene, special meals and insuring his medicine is taken appropriately.
Thank you in advance!
No you cannot claim rent expenses for him. If he is your dependent, you may be able to claim actual medical expenses that you pay out of pocket but rent expenses are never deductible.
As previously mentioned, rent is not deductible but medical expenses are. If you can claim him as a dependent, then you can claim his medical expenses. Yes, he has legitimate medical expenses in there. Here is the IRS medical expense guide. Most places like that can tell you the medical portion versus the rent portion. You may get an itemized bill. Each place is a little different. You definitely have medical expenses.
Also, I really hate to say this, the medical expenses have to be pretty high to be used on your return. Please see the instructions for Schedule A, itemized deductions. In order to use this, your expenses would have to surpass your standard deduction.
The standard deduction is so high now that 95% of people are taking the standard deduction.
The bottom line is, whatever you pay to put a roof over anyone's head is never ever deductible on the federal return. Call it rent, mortgage, or anything else. It's just not a deductible expense.
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