I can’t speak for your mother’s tax situation, but something doesn’t sound quite right in your set up.
if your mother provides care in your home, she is your household employee. Because she is your parent, you are not required to pay household employee tax, or issue a W-2 in most cases.** She would voluntarily disclose the household employee income on her own tax return on line 1b, along with any other income, and she may or may not owe taxes.
(** there is one exception to the rule that you don’t have to pay household employers tax when the employee is your parent. If your parent is providing care in your home for your children under age 18, AND your marital status is listed below, then you must withhold and pay household employee tax and issue a W-2.
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You’re divorced and haven't remarried.
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You’re a widow or widower.
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You’re living with a spouse whose physical or mental condition prevents them from caring for your child for at least 4 continuous weeks in the calendar quarter services were performed)
to claim those childcare expenses for the childcare credit, you will need to provide your mother’s name, address, and Social Security number on your tax return. That will alert the IRS to look for matching information on her tax return. However, whether she owes tax or not depends on her overall tax situation. it seems unlikely that if only income is Social Security disability, the addition of $2400 of household employee income would probably not create an additional tax obligation for her. But that depends on her situation, and I can’t speak to that because I don’t have all the facts.
