Get organized in 2018: Tax Tips for Family Caregivers- Caring Village

Before stepping into the role of a family caregiver, you may have tried to prepare yourself for the mental and physical challenges you would face.

However, the impact of caregiving on your family's financial well-being often gets overlooked.

Because we now have a better understanding of the True Cost of Caregiving, it's important to look at some ways family caregivers may be able to reduce their tax burden.

How to Prepare for Tax Season

Get Organized Early

The best approach is to track all expenses throughout the year, so you are organized and prepared with little effort. If you haven’t, start pulling together all of your receipts and use excel to map out all medical and non-medical expenses that you paid (out-of-pocket) for your loved one. You might be surprised to learn that you can take deductions for home modifications (such as a wheelchair ramp), long-term care insurance premiums, travel expenses to and from doctor’s appointments, etc.

Take the Minimum Required Distribution of Retirement Accounts for those aged 70.5+

This applies to both caregivers and care recipients. If you are aged 70.5+, then you’re required by law to make traditional IRA withdrawals annually via Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs). If you do not make this RMD, you could be forced to pay a hefty tax penalty. Now is the time to double-check with your accountant to see if you have taken the required actions this year.

Claim a Dependent (if providing more than 50% of the support for a family member)

According to the IRS, you may claim your aging parent as a dependent if you meet the following requirements:

You are not a dependent of another taxpayer.
Your parent, if married, does not file a joint return.
Your parent is a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, U.S. resident alien, or a resident of Canada or Mexico.
You paid more than half of your parent’s support for the calendar year.
Your parent’s gross income for the calendar year was less than the exemption amount.
Your parent is not a qualifying child of another taxpayer.

This can be a little complicated, so don’t be shy and get tax advice. This could be a big tax saver for you and could help you manage all of those costs throughout the year.

Claim Dependent Care Credit (if you pay for adult day care or home health care)

This type of tax credit is often referred to as the Child and Dependent Care Credit (or Aging Parent Tax Credit). This is designed to provide a tax credit for expenses made by a caregiver, in order to care for a dependent (an aging parent in this case). Examples of these expenses may include adult day care or in-home care, which allows the caregiver to work. Don't miss out on both your standard deductions and those you might not realize are available.

Claim Medical Expenses for Tax Credit

Whether you are a caregiver or care recipient, you can claim medical expenses as a tax deduction. Those expenses paid out-of-pocket for health insurance premiums, dental treatments, cost of transportation, and other long-term care services may qualify. If your medical expenses are greater than 7.5% of your adjusted gross income, then you can deduct them on your taxes.

Use Your Flexible Spending Accounts

A Flexible Spending Account is a special account you put money into that you use to pay for certain out-of-pocket health care costs. You don’t pay taxes on this money, and the funds in these accounts become ‘use or lose’ at the end of the calendar year. As a caregiver, you may use this account to pay for your loved one’s expenses as long as you are responsible for more than 50% of their support.

For any of the suggestions above, please be sure to check with your financial advisor before taking any action, as individual states may have additional tax benefits. Take the opportunity now and get your taxes organized.