Medical Expenses Deductions for Parent

[oryx360]

My father met with an accident and he went into Coma last October. I had to fly to India to take care of him as he had nobody else to take care and I paid almost 10K USD hospital bill. He is not my dependent as a US Citizen or Resident Alien. But, he lives in India. I also spent almost 2500 USD for my flight ticket as it was immediate and then stayed there at a hotel as the house was not in a liveable condition. So, I spent another $1000 on my boarding and lodging.

In December he passed away at the hospital and I went back again with my wife the same day I got the information flying from here to India spending USD 5000 airline ticket for both of us and flew economy only not business and completed his burial and came back.

Now, my expenses from October until January 20th, 2023 was around $20,000. Can I deduct this under Medical expenses as he was being cared by me but he lives in India and also the lodging and boarding for those 3 weeks in October and 3 weeks in January 2023? This will be really helpful for me as a child taking care of an elderly parent.

I went through this article

Qualifying Relative

A qualifying relative is a person:

1. Who is your:

   1. Son, daughter, stepchild, or foster child, or a descendant of any of them (for example, your grandchild),

   2. Brother, sister, half brother, half sister, or a son or daughter of any of them,

   3. Father, mother, or an ancestor or sibling of either of them (for example, your grandmother, grandfather, aunt, or uncle),

   4. Stepbrother, stepsister, stepfather, stepmother, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law, or

   5. 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 2021, and

3. For whom you provided over half of the support in 2021. 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, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information.

[Bsch4477]

• You can’t claim a person as a dependent unless that person is a U.S. citizen, U.S. resident alien, U.S. national, or a resident of Canada or Mexico. 

Since he was not your dependent you can’t deduct those expenses. 

[oryx360]

I am not claiming him as a dependent, but a non-dependent parent who needs care and hospital expenses being paid by me.

[Bsch4477]

There’s no dependent or non- dependent category which would allow you to deduct those expenses. 

[Opus 17 · Accepted solution]

You can deduct medical expenses for a person who is your dependent, or for a person who meets most of the  qualifications to be a dependent but is disqualified because their taxable income is more than $4400 or they are married and filing a joint return with their spouse.  However, this still means they must be a US citizen, a green card holder, or a resident alien (living in the US).  So your father does not qualify.

See page 3

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p502.pdf

[oryx360]

Thank you all. I have one question in regard to the expenses for overseas parent, can I deduct my airfare at least for travelling 2 times with my family for his immediate care and for his death. As, we had to book the air ticket and fly immediately and it cost us a fortune to fly out the next day which was almost 2.5K each. 

Also, can the boarding and lodging be deducted since we had to fly there and take care of my parent.

Thank you

[RalphH1]

Oryx360, I certainly wish there was something in the tax rules which could at least alleviate some of the financial impact during this difficult time you’re going through! But unfortunately almost all tax deductions are related to supporting yourself and official dependents (with the qualifications that Bsch4477 and Opus 17 described), or to money-making endeavors that generate taxable income.

The flights to India are what the government calls “non-deductible personal expenses,” unless there was also a business element of some kind (and it doesn’t sound like that was the case). If you’re seeing a tax result which is discouraging, hopefully there is something else to be entered to improve that before you’re done. I’m so sorry for your loss, oryx360!

[Opus 17]

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@oryx360 wrote:

Thank you all. I have one question in regard to the expenses for overseas parent, can I deduct my airfare at least for travelling 2 times with my family for his immediate care and for his death. As, we had to book the air ticket and fly immediately and it cost us a fortune to fly out the next day which was almost 2.5K each. 

Also, can the boarding and lodging be deducted since we had to fly there and take care of my parent.

Thank you

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Unfortunately, no.  Even if your parent was eligible for you to deduct medical expenses that you paid, travel to visit them is not deductible.  If the patient travels to receive care, you can deduct $50 per day for the patient and for one caregiver/travel companion.  But there is nothing deductible about traveling to the location where the patient is already receiving care, even if you were eligible to deduct the expenses.