elderly parents as dependent

[adam10925]

My elderly parents live in my rental property for free and I pay all taxes.  If I claim them as dependents will that affect their social security and medicare benefit. We live in NY and they have no other income, the loss of rental income and taxes provide over 50% of their expenses.  

[xmasbaby0]

You do not say what other income -- if any-- your parents receive.  That will help to determine whether you can claim them as dependents.   But....if in fact you can claim them ---you get the $500 credit for other dependents for claiming them.   Their Social Security and Medicare would not be affected by you claiming them as dependents.

IRS interview to help determine who can be claimed:

https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/who-can-i-claim-as-a-dependent

CREDIT FOR OTHER DEPENDENTS

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/4499708-what-is-the-500-credit-for-other-dependents-family-tax-cre...

[adam10925]

Thanks for the reply.  They have no other income, no pension, nothing but social security.

[DianeW777]

If you can show you provided more than half of their support you can claim them. Below are the rules for a qualifying relative and a link to a dependency support worksheet.

Qualifying relative:

• They don't have to be related to you (despite the name).
• They aren't claimed as a dependent by someone else.
• They're a US citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.
• They aren’t filing a joint return with their spouse.
• They lived with you the entire year (exceptions apply).
• They made less than $4,700 in 2023.
• You provided more than half of their financial support.

When you add someone as a dependent, we'll ask a series of questions to make sure you can claim them. There may be other tax benefits you can get when you claim a dependent.

• Worksheet for Determining Support - This uses support from every source.  Any money placed in a savings account and left there is not considered used for support.

@adam10925