Form 2441 Can complete this form to claim caregiving expenses for my 85-year old husband who is handicapped and bed bound? We are filing jointly.

[xmasbaby0]

Are you trying to use the child and dependent care credit to claim expenses to have someone take care of your spouse so that you can work?   That credit is used when you pay someone to provide care while YOU work.  If you are paying for that kind of care, then you will need to enter the SSN or tax ID of the person who is taking care of him while you are at work.

Or are you confusing the care with care that you should be entering as a medical expense?

[ColeenD3]

Maybe.

The Child and Dependent Care Credit (not to be confused with the similar-sounding Child Tax Credit) can reduce your tax bill if you paid for a dependent's care so that you could work or look for work.

To qualify for this credit, you must meet all of these criteria:

• You (and your spouse, if filing jointly) must have earned income *

• The earned income requirement for one spouse is waived if s/he was a full-time student or
• Disabled, if they lived with the other spouse for more than 6 months in 2018

• You paid caregiving expenses so that you (and your spouse, if filing jointly) could work or look for work
•  
• The work/look for work requirement for one spouse is waived if s/he was a full-time student or
• Disabled, if they lived with the other spouse for more than 6 months in 2018
• You paid a caregiver to care for a Qualifying Person. The caregiver cannot be:
•  
• Your spouse;
• Your dependent;
• Your child if they were under 19 on the last day of 2018, even if not your dependent; or
• The parent of the Qualifying Person, if the Qualifying Person is your child under the age of 13 during 2020.
• You cannot file with the Married Filing Separately filing status
• You must furnish the care provider's name, address, and (unless it's a tax-exempt organization) their SSN, ITIN, or EIN on your return.

The credit is worth anywhere from 20% to 35% of your qualified expenses, up to $3,000 (for one qualifying person) and $6,000 (for two or more qualifying persons). Your percentage depends on your AGI, with the higher percentages applying to lower incomes and vice-versa.

TurboTax will figure out if you're eligible, do the math, and get you the maximum credit you qualify for.

[nmochang]

I spent hundred of  thousand  dollars hiring private caregivers to take care my elderly spouse, who is bed bound,   also paid short term rehab fees. Where and How do i claim this expenses ?  We both are over 80's

[xmasbaby0]

You do not use the child and dependent care credit for that.   Your spouse is not your dependent.   You can enter the caregiving as a medical expense.

MEDICAL EXPENSES

The medical expense deduction has to meet a rather large threshold before it can affect your return. The amount of medical (including dental, vision, etc.)  expenses that will count toward itemization is the amount that is OVER 7.5% of your adjusted gross income. You should only enter the amount that you paid in 2021—do not include any amounts that were covered by insurance or that are still outstanding.  Of course, your medical expenses plus your other itemized deductions still have to exceed your standard deduction before you will see a difference in your tax due or refund.

To enter your medical expenses go to Federal>Deductions and Credits>Medical>Medical Expenses

2021 STANDARD DEDUCTION AMOUNTS

SINGLE $12,550  (65 or older + $1700)

MARRIED FILING SEPARATELY $12,550  (65 or older + $1350)

MARRIED FILING JOINTLY $25,100  (65 or older + $1350 per spouse)

HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD  $18,800  (65 or older +$1700)

Legally Blind + $1350

[Opus 17]

The Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit can only be used toward care of a disabled spouse if the reason you needed to pay for care was so you could go to work.

Many of your expenses will be deductible as medical expenses, although there are some limitation that may mean you don't get as much actual tax benefit as you expect.

You can list medical care, medication, nursing and rehab.  For in-home caregivers, you can deduct the part of their carer that is for medical and nursing services.  Nursing services do not have to be performed by a nurse, but they must be the kind of services usually performed by a nurse, such as assisting with dressing, bathing, toileting, eating, and providing medical care and medication. Costs for companionship, meal preparation, house cleaning, laundry and so on, are not deductible medical expenses.  If your care providers performed both medical and non-medical services, you must decide what percentage of their cost was from medical care only.

You can only deduct expenses actually paid for in 2021, you would have to deduct past expenses on past tax returns.  

There is a specific section on the Deductions and Credits page to list your medical expenses.  You can also include your premiums for medical insurance including Medicare part B, C and D, as well as your own costs for medical care and medication.  It may or may not reduce your taxes owed, depending on your other income and deductions for things like a mortgage, property taxes, and gifts to charity.  Be sure to list all your itemized deductions, even if you usually skip that section, because it may help you get some benefit from the medical expenses.