Since dad lives with me can I deduct any expenses?

Going beyond that for his own tax filing, it order to claim medical it must be 10 % of AGI, tgengine.

Heidi...being claimed on your taxes is not likely to ever cross anyone's desk and affect her benefits, especially her Social Security. If you're adding cash to her income that may affect her Medicaid but income in kind, like supplying her housing, not so much.

SSI is the low income supplement for disabled or impoverished. Social Security is based on work record and not changeable based on dependency. Medicaid supports are different in every state and if not affected in yours, you are fortunate.

@guestshopadmin - I claim my mother as a dependent and she receives 1060.00/month in SSA. It hasn’t changed her medicaid or SSA benefits at all. But now you have me concerned.

He must be your dependent in order for you to claim his medical expenses. It even goes beyond that question for his own tax filing. 

Aloha, the only thing my mom receives is a pension for the time she worked, and another as a widow. The problem is that because of the severely challenged economy of this country both pensions amount to less than $120/month! Unbelievable, I know. And the most unbelievable part is that my mom used to have two jobs, both of them high earning at the time. Other than the pensions, the only other thing helpful here is having certain medication subsidized, but every year is less and less.

I knew all of this when I moved here, and I did it after exhausting all other options. I saved as much as I could and currently have my house rented in the States, but these are the reasons why I was wondering if there was anything that could help from a tax or financial aid perspective, understanding that our situation is very peculiar.

Thank you so much for following up on my question!

Rosses003 - Does the country she is from or the country you are both living have any programs that will help your mother?

By care giving I would also consider doing laundry, cleaning, and any help that might be needed. Even if it was totaled out at 7 to 10 hours a week. Laundry, cleaning, making dinner is easily an hour a day. At $14.00 an hour for that type of work. It would add up pretty fast. Let's split the 7-10 hours and call it 8 1/2 hours a week. Roughly $161.00 a week, $644.00 per month and that is just the daily items. The bills and transportation added to that.

***To tgengine...If your Dad is a Veteran he may qualify for Adult Day Care as well as getting needed supplies through the VA. Things like Pull ups. gloves, wipes may be obtained through the VA. This can be a great savings to him and or you.

Grandma: I think you've got exactly the right idea. Doesn't sound like TG's dad needs "caregiving" in the traditional sense right now, but he sure does qualify as needing "room and board" and ought to be paying for it out of his funds.

This might be a good time to set up an agreement with your Dad. Make a contract.
You can charge hourly rate for care giving.
You can charge to take him to the Dr.
You can charge for food that you buy that he consumes.
If he is living with you you can charge him a portion of the gas, electric, cable, phone, water, garbage service, newspaper and anything else that might be a household expense this would include snow removal and lawn service. (Easiest way to do this would be to divide the bills by the number of people in the house. 5 people he would pay 1/5th of each bill) Save all receipts so if there is a question later on you can provide proof that the charges are legitimate.)

Rainmom, those tax changes won't be available until the return is filed in 2019 for 2018. And then I'm not to sure if it would work in this situation. They will need to check with their tax advisor before trying to declare this credit. His income is to high to consider him as a dependent.

PCVS has an excellent point, but if the parent has a lot of money, the need for Medicaid probably won't be an issue.

PCVS, all adult family members should contribute to a household, don't you think? It helps a person feel some self_worth to pay their own way.

Parents are not boarders they are family. On the other hand, if the parent has a lot of money, paying rent might mean the difference between "gift" and "expense" should the need for Medicaid arise. Lawyers and accountants should have those answers.

$1400 a month is not SSI (Supplemental Security Income). For 2018 that max is $750. SSI is not Social Security...different funding sources.

TG, why doesnt your dad pay rent?

You say he covers his expenses, but he doesnt. You give him money every month. AND you house and feed him.  Doesn't Dad deserve the dignity of paying his own way?

Think about visiting an eldercare lawyer and setting something up.

Thank you freqflyer,

Unfortunately I’m aware of that but wanted to confirm, because I know that there are some situations that allow for some compensation; for example, I’ve a friend whose husband receives payment for driving her mom to and from the outside care facility where she goes daily in Virginia, so I was wondering if similar ideas could exist that I didn’t know about.

I’ve always thought that with the large population of adult children that are forced to quit their life to care for their sick or elderly parent(s) the fact that there’s no financial help for us is a significant void in the system and regulations. It feels as if we are forgetten citizens!

I understand that the system offers resources which in many cases should suffice, like Medicaid and subsidized care centers for the elderly, etc..yet that doesn’t cover all situations. We know there are many people that for a wide array of reasons have no choice but to become 24/7 caregivers. And I’m not even considering my situation as part of the void I’m referring to, because like I said my mom is not a US citizen...yet she is most definitely absolutely my dependent!

And no, here the system doesn’t work for basically anything.

Rosses, the vast majority of grown children who are caregivers for their parent(s) are not paid.... unless the parent can pay from their own savings account.

Since your Mom is not a U.S. citizen, then Medicaid is totally out of the question. You may want to check with the government where your Mom lives to see what is available for her.

Unfortunately I think I know the answer to this, but I’ll ask anyway taking advantage of your question Tgengine. I’m the caregiver of my mom but she lives overseas, so I moved overseas to care for  her full time and in order to do this I quit my job so have no income. Is there any way you guys know of through which I can receive any type of compensation or at least tax relief? The big problem here is that my mom is not an US citizen. Any ideas will be appreciated!

While it won’t help for 2017, Donald’s newly passed tax reforms may help you out going forward.

There's a new tax credit for non-child dependents, like elderly parents.
Taxpayers may now claim a $500 temporary credit for non-child dependents. 

This can apply to a number of people adults support, such as children over age 17, elderly parents or adult children with a disability.

Dad should be paying you some sort of rent. From what I have seen, senior, low income housing charges 30% of income as rent.

Thanks, kind of figured as much, thought I would put it out there.
Thanks again.

You cannot declare any expenses related to someone UNLESS they are your dependent.
If you declare him as a dependent, it could affect his SSI and any Medicaid benefits. Consult a tax preparer familiar with your state's rules and see which benefits you and him the most.