How Family Caregivers Can Get the Tax Breaks They Deserve

Living arrangements. You may claim a friend, honorary auntie or other unrelated loved one as a dependent, but he or she must have lived with you the entire year. 

Married dependent considerations. You can claim a dependent who is married only if he or she does not file a joint return with the spouse or files a joint return only to get a refund of income tax withheld and does not claim any other credits or deductions. 

Not a dependent yourself. You can claim a dependent only if you are not a dependent of another taxpayer. 

The IRS has an interactive tool to help you determine if a dependent qualifies you for a tax credit. 

Tips to help support your claim 

1. Keep detailed records. For example, create a log to show the dependent lived with you for at least half the year. 

2. Keep receipts and keep a written log of all related expenses. This record will ensure you don’t miss any allowable deductions, and it can serve as part of your documentation if you are audited. 

3. Be aware that adding a dependent makes that person part of your household, which could have implications in areas such as Medicaid eligibility or the cost of health insurance purchased through the Affordable Care Act marketplace. 

Bonus: Head of household status 

If you are a single taxpayer or married but living apart from your spouse, adding a dependent relative who lives with you could bump you up to head of household.

The change in status raises your standard deduction for the 2022 tax year to $19,400, up from $12,950 if you are single or married but filing separately. Remember that taking the standard deduction means you can’t claim any personal exemptions. 

A parent does not need to live with you for you to claim head of household status. Any other relative must have lived with you for at least half of the tax year. 

If you use a multiple support agreement to claim your dependent, you cannot use the dependent to file as a head of household. 

Deduct a dependent’s medical expenses 

You can deduct the money you paid to cover your loved one’s unreimbursed medical costs if the qualified medical expenses of everyone claimed on your taxes totals more than 7.5 percent of your adjusted gross income for that year and if your total itemized deductions are more than your standard deduction. 

Check IRS Publication 502 to see what is and isn’t deductible. Here is a sample of acceptable deductions: 

• Activities for older people with special needs. 
• Acupuncture. 
• Adult day care or a home health care worker if you work outside the house. 
• Assisted living costs when incurred for medical reasons. 
• Bandages. 
• Copayments and deductibles. 
• Eyeglasses. 
• Hearing aids. 
• Home and vehicle modifications needed for safety or mobility. 
• Insulin. 
• Physical therapy. 
• Prescribed medicines and equipment, such as a cane or walker. 
• Professional health aide costs during respite care. 
• Transportation for medical appointments or services. 

Not deductible: Items and services that benefit the household, not just the one receiving care. 

Flexible spending and health savings accounts 

Flexible spending accounts (FSAs) and health savings accounts (HSAs) take money from your earnings before taxes are deducted and deposit it in a medical savings plan you can use to pay out-of-pocket health care costs for yourself and dependents. 

You may use one of these accounts to pay your dependent’s medical bills, copays, insurance deductibles, over-the-counter medical supplies, personal protective equipment and even some treatments that your insurance doesn’t cover. However, if you pay using an FSA or HSA, you cannot take a tax deduction for that bill as a medical expense. 

Child and dependent care credits

Unlike the Child Tax Credit or Credit for Other Dependents, which confer a tax break based on the existence of a qualifying child or other dependent, the Child and Dependent Care Credit is based on money you spend to have someone else care for that person or people depending on the circumstances. For the 2022 tax year, you can claim a portion of up to $3,000 in caregiving costs for one qualifying person and up to $6,000 for two or more. 

Oddly, given the name, this tax credit does not require that your loved one qualify as your dependent in certain circumstances. But the IRS has rules for when you can claim it. Among them: 

• Cohabitation. The person you are claiming the credit for must have lived with you for at least six months during the tax year. 

• Dependency. The person is your dependent or could be except for having gross income higher than the allowed maximum, which is $4,400 in 2022, or filing a joint tax return with a spouse that year. 

• Incapacity. The person is physically or mentally unable to care for himself or herself. 

• Necessity for employment. You pay an adult day care program, child care program or a home health worker to assist your loved one so you can go to work or look for work. 

• Spousal qualifications. If you are married, your spouse also must work, be a student or be disabled for you to qualify for this credit. 

If you plan to claim any of these credits or deductions, be sure to outline all of your costs and get someone to help you with your taxes, says Lynnette Lee-Villanueva, vice president of  AARP Foundation’s Tax-Aide. AARP volunteers staff this free tax-preparation service.  

Tax-Aide has more than 5,000 sites nationwide that are open annually during tax season. An online site locator can help you find one near you. 

This article, originally published Dec. 15, 2017, has been updated to reflect tax laws and policies for the 2022 tax year.