| As our aging parents get older they become more | | | | the last calendar year. These things include medical |
| and more reliant on their children for just about | | | | expenses, so that if you are paying their medical bills |
| everything. If you pay for most of your elderly parents | | | | (which can be extremely expensive) you should be |
| living expenses, or maybe if they even live with you, | | | | okay. |
| you may have wondered whether or not you can | | | | Next if you have a brother or sister who is also paying |
| claim them as a dependent when filing your taxes. If | | | | some of the support for your aging parent pay |
| so, you'll receive an additional personal tax exemption | | | | attention to this one. Imagine you and your siblings all |
| as well as the ability to receive medical expense | | | | chip in and together you pay more than the 50% of |
| deductions that your aging parent may not qualify for | | | | your parents support deemed necessary by the IRS... |
| on their own because of their low tax bracket. | | | | in that case you ARE eligible to claim them as a |
| Well, to answer your question, yes you can claim them | | | | dependent, but only one of you is eligible. So if you |
| as a dependent under certain circumstances which I'll | | | | have four brothers and sisters and they all chip in, one |
| be discussing in this article today. | | | | of you gets to claim the deduction. |
| Generally speaking, to claim your parents as a | | | | Next your parent has to be a US citizen or a least a |
| dependent for tax purposes you need to meet the | | | | resident or national that resides in America for some |
| following list of conditions... | | | | part of the year. They may also be a resident of |
| First of all your parent must be a member of your | | | | Mexico or Canada. |
| household, or at least have some sort of family | | | | Finally, your parent can't file a joint tax return. There |
| relationship to you. Acceptable family relationships | | | | are a couple of exceptions... one they can file a joint |
| include father, mother, father in law, or mother-in-law in | | | | return if it's only for the purpose of getting a tax |
| the eyes of the IRS. | | | | refund. Also, they can file a joint return if they have no |
| Next, your parent must make less than $2,350 a year | | | | tax due. |
| in gross income as of several years ago. This figure | | | | Claiming your parent as a dependent can be a really |
| will change every year, so make sure that you check | | | | good tax deduction, and it can save you an enormous |
| with your accountant to see what this year's actual | | | | amount of money especially over time. Be sure to |
| number is. As long as your parent makes less than | | | | check with your accountant or CPA beforehand to |
| that amount, you're good to go. | | | | make sure that you meet all the requirements placed |
| Next you have to supply, or have supplied, more than | | | | by the IRS. |
| one half of the support needed by your parent within | | | | |