It's not clear to me which household expenses are deductible for supporting a medically necessary, live-in caregiver. And I realize that, to get an official answer on this, I would need to consult a tax law attorney. But I'm interested in getting a sense of whether this is even worth pursuing. So feedback is very much appreciated.
It seems to be the case that out-of-pocket costs for caregiver meals can be included, if they can be adequately justified. For example, I can determine total household food expenses for the year, determine a daily fraction for all the days the caregiver is working, and then determine a fraction to assign for the caregiver (1/3 for 2 residents plus the caregiver in a home). Is there a simpler, standard, per diem amount that can be used for this, like $15/day? Regardless, this might come to an out-of-pocket deductible expense from about $2,000 to $4,000.
There are many other out-of-pocket expenses associated with maintaining a home in which a live-in caregiver occupies a fair fraction. I'd appreciate feedback on which expenses in the following hypothetical might qualify for medical expense deductions.
Home of 2000 sq ft with about 200 sq ft dedicated to live-in accommodation (10%)
Annual out of pocket:
Mortgage: $15,000
Property taxes: $5,000
Home insurance: $1,000
Utilities (gas/electric and water): $2,400
Maintenance: $2,500
In the best case, if all out-of-pocket lodging expenses could be deducted, the "caregiver amount" (~10%) might be about $3.000. With meal deductions, a total of maybe $5,000. The deductible expense of a live-in caregiver far exceeds this amount by 20 to 30 times. So is it even worth pursuing these potentially problematic additional deduction options?
But I would speak to a CPA in your own state in your own area.
Too complex and not anything you can get wrong.