For many of us, as our parents get older, they need more and more help getting around and doing everyday tasks. For some though, it goes beyond helping here and there, and the care for the parent is actually similar to caring for a child. There are some instances where these individuals can claim their parent as their dependent on their tax return. Mark Dicus & Company is here to talk about what it takes to legally qualify you to claim your parent as a dependent on your tax return.
Filing Taxes for Elderly Parents
To figure out if your parent needs to file taxes or not, you will need to take a close look at their gross income for the year. When it comes to gross income, this doesn’t usually pertain to the Social Security Benefits they receive throughout the year. There is an IRS threshold for age and filing status that you will have to take a look at as well. If they make under $12,200 individually or 24,400 as a couple, they don’t have to file taxes for that year. There are some exceptions to this rule, but generally speaking, they will be exempt.
How to Claim Your Parent as a Dependent
There are obviously going to be some requirements that must be met in order to claim your parent as a dependent.
– Income Requirement: They have to earn under the income threshold set by the IRS. This amount usually changes slightly every year, so it’s important that you are checking that every single time.
– Support: You have to be supporting your parent to claim them. The support you are offering needs to be more than half of your parent’s financial support. You need to take a look at their earnings as well as the social security that they are pulling in. The support you provide includes room and board, food, utilities and other expenses.
Elderly Dependent Care Tax Credit
There are credits as well as deductions that you can benefit from when claiming your elderly parent as a dependent. Some of them include:
– Medical/Dental Expenses: You can deduct any medial or dental expenses when they have not been reimbursed. They need to exceed more than 10% of your adjusted gross income.
– Dependent Care Credit: You will be eligible for the dependent care credit as well. You can claim up to $3,000 per parent.
– Family Tax Credit: This credit is worth $500 per dependent. It applies to elderly dependents and disabled dependents.
Tax Preparation, Filing, Resolution & More in Summerlin, North LV, Henderson, Lone Mountain Village & Greater Las Vegas, Nevada
If you are caring for your parent and think you may qualify to claim them as a dependent or even have any questions about filing taxes for your elderly parent, Mark Dicus & Company can help you and answer any questions you may have about the process. Call us today!