Tax deduction for my mother in an assisted living facility. How can we claim this on our taxes?

Good reason to contact a CPA for taxes, he/she is up to date on the current rules and regulations. Seems like every year something changes.

Sister is 66 and recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's Doctor suggested Asst'dLiving home for her safety. She was living alone. She can afford to pay for every expense Could she have any tax deductions related to the expense of this care? Would she be considered "disabled" and would that help with any deductions?

Need substantially more information to answer, but here's some info. If you provide more than half of your mother's living expenses and her gross income is not more than the personal exemption amount, $3,800 in 2012, you may be able to claim her as your dependent. NOTE: Social Security does not count in the 'gross income' test, but you must count any Social Security that was used to pay her expenses when determining if you paid more than half of her living expenses.

If you paid more than 1/2 support, but still can't take her as your dependent because of the gross income test, you might still be able to deduct medical expenses you paid for her on your tax return. IRS will recognize assisted living expenses as qualifying if she is there for medical reasons (doctor's certification as 'chronically ill). You may also need to obtain a statement from the facility breaking out the medical portion.

You may also want to look into a Multiple Support Agreement for you & your sister which could allow one of you to take a dependency exemption even if neither of you provided more than 1/2 support.

Best advice. Get all your information and figures together and talk to a competent tax advisor -Tax Attorney, CPA or EA.

---PS I am a CPA.

I can't see where she lives matters. If together you are paying more than half of her living expenses, one of you ought to be able to claim her as a dependent. You can trade off every other year. Flip a coin to see who starts.

I had my accountant do it. But I had to get a letter from the facility stating which part of her rent was for medical purposes. (For example food doesn't count). Then I had to get a letter from her doctor stating medically she needed to be there. The cost was still more than her income. So she didn't pay a dime in taxes last year.

We hired a CPA to make sure everything is done correctly. About $200 to have them assemble and file the annual tax return. Just maintain your records in appropriate files throughout the year so the information the CPA asks for is ready.

I don't think you can claim them unless they lived with you at least 1/2 the time. Take a look at the IRS site...http://www.irs.gov/uac/Ten-Things-to-Know-About-the-Child-and-Dependent-Care-Credit

Years ago, my mom and her sister used to go back and forth each year and take my grandmother as a dependent on their taxes.

I am also interested in this answer as we are also supplementing the price of our mother's monthly senior citizen/assisted iiving costs.