

The services need not be performed by a nurse, if the services are of a kind generally performed by a nurse such as giving medication or changing dressings as well as bathing and grooming the patient. Amounts paid for inpatient hospital care.Individuals who itemize instead of taking the standard deduction can deduct only the amount of medical and dental expenses you paid for yourself or a qualifying relative that is more than 7.5% of your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI), a threshold reduced from 10% by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act for the 2018 tax year. However, it’s important to confirm with the agency that it is responsible for all taxes.įor more information, see IRS Publication 926. Generally, if an agency provided the worker, that person isn’t considered your employee for tax purposes.

In addition to employment taxes, you’re also responsible for paying state unemployment taxes and, unless excluded by a mutual written agreement, state and federal withholding taxes, says Jenkins. If you paid wages to a spouse, sibling or your child, you’re not required to pay employment taxes on those wages.

If you hired a private health aide or caregiver in 2018, you may need to pay state and federal employment taxes if total compensation exceeds $2,100 for a year or $1,000 for a quarter, says Jenkins. Use the IRS’s Interactive Tax Assistant to determine who you can claim as a dependent. You must also meet other IRS eligibility requirements.įor more information on claiming a relative as a dependent, see IRS Publication 554, IRS Publication 501, page 15 and For Caregivers on the IRS website. You may be able to claim a deduction for qualified expenses for a qualifying relative who lived with you as a member of your household all year (or died in 2018 while living with you) if you provided more than half of that person’s total support and the person’s gross income for the calendar year wasn’t more than $4,150. Son-in-law, daughter-in-law, father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law or sister-in-law.Parent, grandparent or another direct ancestor.Child, stepchild, foster child or a descendant of any of them.

Qualified relatives who don’t have to live with you include your: To claim caregiver and support deductions for qualified expenses for a relative, the person must either live with you as a member of your household all year or be a qualified relative who doesn’t live with you. “For 2018, that personal exemption went away, but you still could benefit if you can claim a qualifying relative as a dependent,” says Christopher Jenkins, a Certified Public Accountant in Waltham, Mass. Prior to 2018, if you were able to claim a parent as a dependent because you provided more than half their support, you could claim a $4,050 personal exemption for that person. For more information, see IRS Publication 554, pages 26-29. Credit for the Elderly or the Disabled: You may qualify for this credit, which varies in amount according to filing status and income, if you were age 65 or older at the end of 2018.Child and Dependent Care Credit: You may be able to claim this $500 credit if you pay someone to care for your spouse or another adult dependent.However, you may be able to save money on taxes if you qualify for a tax credit: Tax Credits for People 65+ and Caregiversįor 2018, you can no longer claim a personal exemption deduction for yourself, a spouse or dependents. (See IRS Publication 554 to determine your standard deduction.) If you don’t itemize deductions and are 65 or older, you may be entitled to a higher standard deduction, ranging from an additional $1,300 to $1,600.
#Deductible medical expenses 2018 irs plus
Of course, your medical expenses plus your other itemized deductions still have to exceed your standard deduction before you will see a difference in your tax due or refund.You can take the standard deduction or itemize on Schedule A, but you can’t choose both. You should only enter the amount that you paid in 2019-do not include any amounts that were covered by insurance or that are still outstanding. The amount of medical (including dental, vision, etc.) expenses that will count toward itemization is the amount that is OVER 10% of your adjusted gross income. The medical expense deduction has to meet a rather large threshold before it can affect your return. Again-what you pay in 2019 goes on your 2019 return.
