i live with my husband and am covered under his insurance. He supports me but because I need help during the day, my daughter cleans, runs errands and takes me to the doctor's. i do receive disability but not medicare. our medical bills are high. can my daughter claim any expenses, like her milage etc.. for what she does even though it's not 50% or more of my financial care? She does so much, i would like her to be able to at least receive some sort of tax break or payment.
http://seriousgivers.org/what-can-a-charity-volunteer-deduct/
I'm afraid it's pretty bleak and not even possible unless your daughter itemizes deductions. She would have to work through a recognized charitable organization- 501(c)(3) - and still only be able to take 14 cents per mile, which is a statutory amount written into the IRS Code with no provisions at this time (or ever in the past) for COLA (cost of living adjustments). She could take more for medical mileage but there is a further exempted amount for medical even if you itemize and that isn't of much help either.
You would be considered a dependent of your husband, not your daughter, so the 50 percent you ask about would only apply if she was supplying more than 50 percent of your maintenance so that she could take you as a dependent. I'm sure you know you can't be a dependent on two peoples tax returns, so there is no help for your daughter there.
If you had any disposable friends you could take her with, the two of you could have a personal service contract however she would have to claim it as income. Likewise, if you qualified for County assistance from a caregiver because you can't drive (there is an income test for this and I'm guessing you wouldn't qualify because of your husband's employment), she could sign up through the county as a caregiver and be allowed a certain number of hours to help you, but again that would have to be income she would claim. Kind I've set up as a lot of trouble for a small net return.
Have you considered buying a ten or twenty thousand dollar term life insurance policy with your daughter as the beneficiary. I don't know if you feel that compensating her down the road, or if that is even the correct amount, would be valuable to her. But financial consultants use term insurance all the time to cover expected expenses coming up in an estate. Term is low cost because it expires and must be renewed annually, not a vested whole life insurance policy. At a time in the future when she would receive that, its not taxable.
It sounds like your daughter may not be your husband's daughter? It's excellent that you are thinking of protecting her in some way. If this is the case, and you have a sum of money that belongs to you, you could find an annuity that would be payable to her upon your death. Unfortunately, the net gain IS taxable.
Some elder care or disabled services have free or reduced cost Financial Consultants who could help you make better plans for the future.
Be sure you have your financial and health powers of attorney in place wow you are legally competent to sign them. If your husband and daughter are not related, be sure to make sure that your husband cannot exclude your daughter, something that often happens I'm sorry to say. The only way to guarantee this is to set up a trust for your half of the community estate. However, you say your husband is supporting you and moves such as this can cause contention and aggravation. For all I know, your husband maybe your daughters father with no animosity. In that case, these comments have been added for other people reading this post.
Think ahead, plan ahead and document what you want or I will guarantee you that there will be people who do not follow your wishes if they are not legally obligated to do so.
if you had any disposable INCOME you could PAY her with
kind OF set up as a lot of trouble
powers of attorney in place WHILE you are legally competent to sign them
kfloyd. I think Carol has covered everything this is not may area at all. My question is do you automatically get Medicare with disability even if you are too young? If you do could you afford a supplementary policy to cover the 20 % In our case we have a Medicare PPO which costs us each $108 a month and covers the 20% and drugs. Is your household income too high for Medicaid? I don't know that there is any way to repay your daughter other than what you are doing now and Carol's suggestions
So, kathy, thanks to Veronica's probative question (as I was so busy answering the tax questions, I overlooked your comment about not getting Medicare), I am happy to tell you that your life may soon be changing for the better. I'm giving Veronica a "helpful answer" click and you should too! You may already know this but when you are disabled and under 65, you are automatically enrolled in Medicare immediately IF you have Lou Gehrig's disease or End-stage renal disease. Those don't apply to you.
For any other disability under 65, you will automatically be enrolled in Medicare Part A & B (although you can opt out of Part B if you are covered through another health plan), starting after the 24th month of disability payments, in other words beginning on months 25. The medicare.gov website says you will get your paperwork and Medicare card about 3 months before your eligibility (that's when you would call Social Security - 1-800-772-1213 - and find out the best way for you to handle Part B based on your husbands job).
It's not exciting that you're disabled but how long have you been getting payments. Isn't exciting that you'll be eligible for Medicare starting after 2 years. I hope when you get it, it is is your financial burden a bit.
it EASES your financial burden a bit
Plesse don't overlook the other suggestions about a term policy that could eventually benefit your daughter. Some companies offer free term insurance for a thousand dollars just because you're a member or on their credit card. Depending on the company, for nominal payment this could be increased to ten to twenty thousand dollars. Most all of those that I have seen are with no medical exam. Just saying.