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December 11, 2005 -- My elderly mother, no longer able to care for herself, has recently moved in with my family. What are the tax effects of an extra family member living in my household?

1. Dependency exemption. You may be able to claim the cared-for individual as your dependent, thus qualifying for an exemption. To qualify, (a) you must provide more than 50% of the individual's support costs, (b) she must either live with you or be related, (c) she must not have gross income in excess of the exemption amount ($3,200 for 2005), (d) she must not file a joint return for the year, and (e) she must be a U.S. citizen or a resident of the U.S., Canada, or Mexico. If the support test ((a), above) can only be met by a group (several children, for example, combining to support a parent), a “multiple support” form can be filed to grant one of the group the exemption, subject to certain conditions.

2. Medical expenses. If the individual qualifies as your dependent, you can include any medical expenses you incur for her along with your own when determining your medical deduction. If she doesn't qualify as your dependent only because of the gross income or joint return test ((c) and (d), above), you can still include these medical costs with your own. The costs of qualified long-term care services required by a chronically ill individual and eligible long-term care insurance premiums are included in the definition of deductible medical expenses. There's an annual cap on the amount of premiums that can be deducted. The cap is based on age, going as high as $3,400 (in 2005) for an individual over 70.

3. Filing status. If you aren't married, you may qualify for “head of household” status by virtue of the individual you're caring for. If the person you're caring for (a) lives in your household, (b) you cover more than half the household costs, (c) she qualifies as your dependent, and (d) she is a relative, you can claim head of household filing status. If the person you're caring for is your parent, she need not live with you, as long as you provide more than half of her household costs and she qualifies as your dependent.

4. Dependent care credit. If the cared-for individual qualifies as your dependent, lives with you, and physically or mentally cannot take care of herself, you may qualify for the dependent care credit for costs you incur for her care to enable you and your spouse to go to work.

5. Exclusion for payments under life insurance contracts. Any lifetime payments received under a life insurance contract on the life of a person who is either terminally or chronically ill are excluded from gross income. A similar exclusion applies to the sale or assignment of a life insurance contract to a person who regularly buys or takes assignments of such contracts and meets other qualifying standards.

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