Can You Claim A Parent As A Dependent?

One of the nuances of the United States tax code is the possibility of claiming a parent as a dependent on your tax return. As the population continues to age and life spans increase many adults find themselves financially caring for their children and their parents.

 

Monies an adult child contributes to the care of a parent can be used as a tax deduction in a variety of ways on your tax return. The first consideration is the amount of money an adult child contributes; at least 50 percent of the parents' care must be contributed to begin assessing where and how the care of a parent would benefit your tax return

Financial Contributions To Assess

• Cost of the room provided
• Cost of a care facility
• Food, utilities
• Prescription costs
• Durable Medical Equipment Costs
• Medicare Advantage premiums, long term care insurance, deductibles, co-insurance payments

The Dependent Care Credit, Multiple Support Declaration, dependent qualifications and medical expense itemization are important areas to consider when filing a tax return if you are financing the care of a parent.

 Additional information at: http://burdensasblessings.com/2014/03/04/does-your-parent-qualify-as-a-tax-deduction/

 
Image credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/lendingmemo/11746158465/sizes/l/

Read more ...

Federal Government Tweaks ACA For State Health Exchanges

A policy change regarding the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the state run health exchanges was quietly announced last week by the Health and Human Services (HHS) department.

The problems with the federal health exchange at www.healthcare.gov have been well documented locally and nationally. However, consumers attempting to sign up for coverage on the state exchanges have experienced technical issues which have prevented enrollment through the state exchange.

Currently 17 states haves their own healthcare exchange. Particularly problematic have been the exchanges in Oregon, Massachusetts, Maryland and Hawaii. The change in policy may allow consumers who were unsuccessful at enrolling in the state exchange access the federal subsidies and tax credits retroactively.

Consumers must prove they attempted to enroll in the state exchange unsuccessfully and then purchased an ACA compliant policy for 2014. Federal subsidies for the cost of the insurance could then be applied for the current policy as well as retroactively should the consumer satisfy the income requirements.

Additional information available at www.burdensasblessings.com

Read more ...