My mom lives with me and gets Social Security. How much should she contribute to living expenses?

My version was with my daughters living at home but having a small income. They paid a per-head proportion of food, and then we negotiated contributions to the expenses I would have had to pay anyway. It was never going to be permanent, and I wanted them to keep some spending money and savings. It would have been different if it was long term and they had good incomes - then I would have expected contributions to the capital cost of providing housing.

The best way is to take your completed rental agreement with you to Social Security and they will give you an idea based on what u think.

First, you need to find the Caregiver Agreement on this site, print it out, fill it out and sign it. Ideally, an attorney would look it over. You need to do this in case Mom ever needs to apply for Medicaid. If, during the look-back period for Medicaid, they see her money being transferred to you, they will see this as a gift and it may disqualify her from benefits.

Whatever Mom pays you has to seem fair for both of you. If there are other family members living in your home, it wouldn’t seem fair for Mom to pay half the expenses. If Mom eats like a bird, she shouldn’t have to pay 1/2 the grocery bill. If she only gets a few hundred a month, you don’t want to bankrupt her. I might check out apartment rentals in your area and go from there. Section 8 housing for low-income renters is 1/3 of their income. Utilities, with the exception of cable and phone, are included I believe. Mom had to use a coin laundry but only did a load or two a week. She also had to buy her own food.

What you charge should be a reasonable amount both of you are comfortable with.