Tax Breaks for Family Caregivers: Deductions and Credits That Can Help

Caring for a parent can cost thousands of dollars a year out of your own pocket. The tax code won't make up for all of it, but a few provisions can soften the blow. This guide covers the three that matter most to family caregivers: deducting medical and long-term care expenses, the credit for dependent care while you work, and claiming a parent as your dependent.

This is general information, not tax advice. Rules depend on your income, filing status, and family situation. Most of the IRS publications cited here were written for 2025 returns; where we have confirmed 2026 amounts from IRS sources, we note them.

1. The medical expense deduction

IRS Publication 502 explains that you can deduct medical expenses you pay for yourself, your spouse, and your dependents, but only the portion that exceeds 7.5% of your adjusted gross income (AGI), and only if you itemize deductions instead of taking the standard deduction.

Illustrative example: if your AGI is $80,000, the first $6,000 (7.5%) of medical expenses doesn't count. If you paid $14,000 in qualifying expenses, $8,000 could be deductible if you itemize.

Whose expenses count

You can include medical expenses you pay for a parent who is your dependent. Publication 502 also lets you include expenses for someone who would be your dependent except that they had too much gross income, filed a joint return, or you could be claimed as someone else's dependent. That means you may be able to deduct what you pay for Mom's care even if her pension puts her over the dependency income limit.

Long-term care expenses that can count

• Qualified long-term care services. Personal care and other services for a chronically ill person, provided under a plan of care prescribed by a licensed health care practitioner. "Chronically ill" means certified within the last 12 months as unable to do at least two activities of daily living (eating, toileting, transferring, bathing, dressing, continence) without substantial help for at least 90 days, or needing substantial supervision because of severe cognitive impairment.
• Nursing home care. The full cost, including meals and lodging, counts if a principal reason for being there is medical care. If the reason is personal, only the medical and nursing portion counts.
• Nursing-type services at home. Wages for services of a kind normally done by a nurse can count even if the caregiver is not a nurse. If the aide also does housework, only the care portion counts.
• Long-term care insurance premiums, up to an age-based limit (see below).
• Home changes for a medical condition, such as ramps or grab bars, to the extent the cost exceeds any increase in home value.

Ask your parent's doctor or care manager for written documentation of the chronic illness certification and plan of care. It is much easier to gather at the time than to recreate later.

2026 limits for long-term care insurance premiums

Premiums for a tax-qualified long-term care policy can count as a medical expense up to these per-person limits for 2026, from IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32:

Sharing costs with siblings

When several siblings together provide more than half of a parent's support but no one provides more than half, a multiple support agreement (IRS Form 2120) lets one of you, who contributed more than 10%, claim the parent. Publication 502 notes that if you are treated as the supporter under such an agreement, you can include the medical expenses you personally paid. The other siblings cannot deduct the expenses they paid, so plan together who should pay medical bills.

2. The child and dependent care credit (for adults too)

Despite the name, this credit can apply to care for an adult. You may qualify if you pay for care so that you (and your spouse, if filing jointly) can work or look for work, and the person cared for is a qualifying person: a spouse or dependent who is physically or mentally unable to care for themselves and lived with you for more than half the year. Publication 503 describes "unable to care for themselves" as people who can't dress, clean, or feed themselves because of a disability, or who need constant attention to avoid injuring themselves or others.

The credit has been enhanced starting in 2026. According to the IRS:

• You can count up to $3,000 of expenses for one qualifying person, or $6,000 for two or more.
• The credit rate is up to 50% for lower incomes, gradually dropping as income rises, and never below 20%.
• The maximum credit is $1,500 for one qualifying person or $3,000 for two or more. It is nonrefundable.
• The employer dependent care benefit (FSA) exclusion rose to $7,500 ($3,750 if married filing separately). Expenses paid through a dependent care FSA can't also be used for the credit.

Expenses that may qualify include adult day care, an in-home aide, or a companion while you are at work. Care outside your home counts for an adult only if the person regularly spends at least 8 hours a day in your home. Payments to your spouse, to your dependent, or to your child under 19 don't count. Some expenses could qualify for both this credit and the medical deduction, but you can't use the same dollars twice.

3. Claiming a parent as a dependent

Under Publication 501, a parent can be your qualifying relative if all of these are true:

• They are not anyone's qualifying child.
• They are related to you as a parent, stepparent, or certain other relatives (parents don't have to live with you).
• Their gross income is less than the limit: $5,300 for 2026 (it was $5,200 for 2025). Nontaxable Social Security benefits generally aren't counted as gross income.
• You provide more than half of their total support for the year, or qualify through a multiple support agreement.

Support includes housing, food, medical care, and care costs. Money your parent spends on their own support, including from Social Security, counts as support they provided. Tally both sides before assuming you qualify.

What claiming a parent can get you

• The credit for other dependents, worth up to $500 per qualifying dependent, subject to income limits.
• Head of household filing status, if you are unmarried. Publication 501 says a dependent parent doesn't have to live with you, as long as you pay more than half the cost of keeping up their main home for the year. That includes paying more than half the cost of a rest home or home for the elderly.
• The ability to include their medical expenses with yours, as described above.

Don't forget your parent's own return

If your parent files their own taxes, they may be able to deduct their own medical and long-term care costs. Two more provisions can help people 65 and older:

• An additional standard deduction for age. For 2026 it is $1,650 per eligible person, or $2,050 if unmarried and not a surviving spouse.
• A new senior deduction. For 2025 through 2028, people 65 and older can deduct an extra $6,000 each ($12,000 for a married couple if both qualify). It phases out above $75,000 of modified AGI ($150,000 for joint filers).

Large care costs can sometimes make itemizing worthwhile for a parent even when it wasn't before.

If you pay, or are paid as, a family caregiver

Paying a relative to provide care has its own tax rules, including possible household employer obligations and an income exclusion for some Medicaid waiver payments. See our guide to paying family caregivers.

Where to get free tax help

The IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) programs offer free tax preparation for many older adults and moderate-income families. For complex situations, consider an enrolled agent or CPA.

Your next steps

1. Start a care expense folder today for receipts, invoices, and mileage to medical appointments.
2. Ask for a written plan of care and chronic illness certification from your parent's practitioner.
3. Track support you and your parent each provide, to see if you can claim them.
4. Coordinate with siblings early in the year if you share costs.
5. Compare your total costs with our cost of care guide, and review working while caregiving for workplace benefits like a dependent care FSA.

Veterans and surviving spouses: VA benefits have their own rules about counting medical expenses. See VA Aid and Attendance.

Last reviewed October 19, 2026. General information only, not medical, legal, or financial advice. Benefit rules and amounts change, so confirm with the agency before you decide. See our disclaimer.