Handicapped dependent

[GiustL]

My son is mentally and physically handicapped and is living in a Nursing facility full time paid by medicaid. Can I claim him as a dependent as I supply all needs other than the facility and medical care? If so how do I answer how many months he lived with me?

[xmasbaby0]

So sorry for your child's health issues.  But if he is in a nursing facility and it is being fully paid for by Medicaid, you are not paying for over half his support, so he cannot be claimed as your dependent.

Did he live there for all of 2022--or is this a recent change?  

[skp54]

This will involve a lot of work on your end, unless you can easily see that the nursing home/Medicaid has paid for more than half his expenses.  Basically, it's who paid more than half his expenses during the year and do you have the receipts to prove it if by chance you are audited.  You can get into the nitty gritty like his portion of the housing/utilities/food, etc.  But really unless you kept track beginning last Jan, you are looking at a lot of work now.  Good luck.  

[GiustL]

He lived in a group home for half the year (still paid by medicaid) then moved to a more critical care facility after 2 months in the hospital. Does the fact that all but $50 of his social security (based off my social security account NOT SSI) is paid to the health care facilities?

[JosephS1]

No, unfortunately.  As xmasbaby0 and skp54 stated, you do not, in all likelihood, meet the requirements to claim your child as a dependent.  You yourself stated that your child did not live with you during the year and, other than the amount you stated, you did not pay for more than half of his support.

For future reference, and as this is early in the year, you may want to begin keeping track of all expenses paid by you for your child's support.  It still may not be enough, but it may give you a baseline to follow for future years if the child is released at some point.

The following is an excerpt from Publication 503, child and dependent care expenses:

Who Is a Qualifying Person? 

Your child and dependent care expenses must be for the care of one or more qualifying persons. A qualifying person is: 

1. Your qualifying child who is your dependent and who was under age 13 when the care was provided (but see Child of divorced or separated parents or parents living apart, later); 

2. Your spouse who wasn't physically or mentally able to care for himself or herself and lived with you for more than half the year; or 

3. A person who wasn't physically or mentally able to care for himself or herself, lived with you for more than half the year, and either: a. Was your dependent, or b. Would have been your dependent except that: 

     i. He or she received gross income of $4,400 or more, 

     ii. He or she filed a joint return, or 

     iii. You, or your spouse if filing jointly, could be claimed as a dependent on someone else's 2022 return. 

Dependent defined. 

A dependent is a person, other than you or your spouse, for whom you could claim an exemption. To be your dependent, a person must be your qualifying child (or your qualifying relative). However, the deductions for personal and dependency exemptions for tax years 2018 through 2025 are suspended, and, therefore, the amount of the deduction is zero. But, in determining whether you may claim a person as a qualifying relative for 2022, the person's gross income must be less than $4,400. Qualifying child. To be your qualifying child, a child must live with you for more than half the year and meet other requirements. More information. For more information about who is a dependent or a qualifying child, see Pub. 501. Physically or mentally not able to care for oneself. Persons who can't dress, clean, or feed themselves because of physical or mental problems are considered not able to care for themselves. Also, persons who must have constant attention to prevent them from injuring themselves or others are considered not able to care for themselves.

Publication 503

Publication 501

@GiustL