Is nursing home care deductable on sch. A?

Question

My mother has total income of 35k and the nursing home costs over 50k. Is all of that 50k deductable?

Answer 1

Yes, nursing home care is a qualifying medical expense. However, does your mother have insurance? Who paid for the expenses? What was actually paid by your mother (out-of-pocket) in 2006?

Answer 2

Depends on circumstances, and her reason for being there. If she's recovering from an accident or illness, then probably yes; if she's just unable to care for herself, then probably no.

If she's paying all of her $35K income to the nursing home, then she is providing over half of her own support, so would not be anyone else's dependent, and she'd be the only one who could possibly claim it - and then, only the $35K that she is providing, not the whole $50K unless she's also providing that from savings or something like that.

From IRS Publication 17, page 136: "You can include in medical expenses the cost of medical care in a nursing home...this includes the cost of meals and lodging in the home if a principal reason for being there is to get medical care. Do not include the cost of meals and lodging if the reason for being in the home is personal. You can, however, include in medical expenses the part of the cost that is for medical or nursing care."