Is it possible to deduct my son's disability?

My son is also 23 and also has Aspergers - fairly severly at that. He was diagnosed when he was 12. A major difference between Aspergers and autism is that autistics generally don't care much for interacting or bonding with other people. Aspergers people do, but just don't have a clue how. It's primarily a function of education rather than ability. A time came when my son was motivated to learn how to deal successfully with women. He wanted to be a "people person." So he read two books. One was an etiquette book by Judith Martin (Miss Manners). The other was Dale Carnage's How to Win Friends and Influence People. They changed his life. Now most people wouldn't guess he has Aspergers. He interacts very well, and has held down a steady job. Don't despair and don't give up. Good luck.

If you supply more than half his support you can claim him as a dependant. Stu

There is no specific deduction available for a disabled child/young adult. However, it appears that your son continues to qualify as one of your dependents -- and will continue to do so for some time. So continue to claim the dependency exemption for him; that will provide some tax relief by reducing Taxable Income by $3,300 (in 2006).

"Rod" wrote

He'll still be your dependent, subject to those rules of course. And you will be able to take medical expenses you pay on his care. Talk to a local CPA or EA about the deductible expenses as far as medical goes. There may be many things that qualify given the fact pattern.

-- Paul A. Thomas, CPA Athens, Georgia

Aside from the dependency exemption and deducting medical expenses you incur for him, I know of no special tax breaks for the parents of a disabled child. Have you checked with your state's welfare department? He may be eligible for cash assistance, Medicaid, or other aid that could lessen the financial burden.

-- D.F. Manno | snipped-for-privacy@mail.com Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning. - Winston Churchill

[snip]

If he is unable to work you will probably be able to claim him as a dependent, in spite of his age. Get IRS Publication 501 and read the section on Exemptions for Dependents. (The 2006 edition isn't out yet, but the rules are the same as for 2005, except that the gross income limit will be $3300 for 2006 and $3400 for 2007.) He will probably meet the requirements as either a "qualifying child" or a "qualifying relative." If you can claim him as a dependent, then you can also include his medical expenses in determining whether you have enough medical expenses (over 7.5% of your AGI) to get a medical expense deduction.

If he manages to hold even a menial job, then you might not be able to claim him as a dependent, but he would presumably be contributing whatever he earns towards his own support. That would probably be worth more than the exemption.

Bob Sandler

Since we have two mentally handicapped adult children I do know a little about your problem. He may be eligible for SSI and/or Social Security. I recommend that you talk to your local Social Security Administration office and see if he qualifies. If he does, then you will have to see if you supported him or his SSI/SS did. Missy Doyle

Actually, the Gross Income Test is disregarded when determining if he is your dependent for medical purposes. __ Art Kamlet ArtKamlet @ AOL.com Columbus OH K2PZH

Stuart,

We were blind to it for way too long. I wish we had been aware of this problem when he was 12. As it is we never even heard of Asperger's until he was 22. Our son exhibits no interest in all in interacting with people, getting a job, getting an education, etc. He spends several hours every day on our computer fooling around with an old (6+ years old) animation program, making animations that don't work outside of the program, and then he doesn't save them. It is like getting into MS Word, becoming an expert at the Headers and Footers feature, but never saving the Word document. When he isn't on the computer he goes into his room and closes the door. I have to admit that if this is the life I have to face, for the rest of my life, I am going to need more help than being able to deduct him on my income taxes. He is draining our finances and making it nearly impossible for me to save anything at all for my wife and my retirement. Rod

The psychologist to diagnosed him told us that he does qualify for cash assistance, but the waiting list to get onto such assistance, in our state, is 5 years. Rod

Art,

What did you mean by, "Actually, the Gross Income Test is disregarded when determining if he is your dependent for medical purposes"? Rod

Thank you, Missy. If I may ask a qualifying question, what do you mean by, "If he does [qualify for SSI], then you will have to see if you supported him or his SSI/SS did"? Rod

.....

If you provide more than half his support, and met the other tests, then his gross income is ignored for purposes of deducting medical costs you paid for him.

See IRS Publication 502.

__ Art Kamlet ArtKamlet @ AOL.com Columbus OH K2PZH

The requirements for deducting medical expenses for a child or relative are less restrictive than those for declaring a child a "full" dependent on your Federal tax return. See pages 3 and 4 of Publication 502. Your son would seem to qualify as Qualifying Child this year, and will qualify as a Qualifying Dependent once he reaches 24 years old.

There is a slightly different set of requirements that have to be met in order claim a Federal Exemption for your son as a Dependent, that is, in order to be able to list him as a Dependent on Line 6c of Form 1040. These are listed on page

19 of the Instructions for Form 1040 or in Table 5 on page 10 of Publication 501. If your son is totally disabled and you provide more than half his support he should be a Qualifying Child independent of his age. However, if he does not meet the Totally Disabled test, then he may qualify as a Qualifying Relative but here that is an Income Test, $2300 per year in 2005, that does not exist in the Medical Deduction requirement.

Note that if your son qualifies as a Dependent under the rules of Publication 501, his medical expenses are automatically included. The medical deduction tests given in Publication 502 are for people who do not qualify as a Dependent under the rules in Publication 501.

All his seems more complicated than it really is, perhaps because I discussed the rules for medical-only deductions before I discussed the rules for

-- Vic Roberts Replace xxx with vdr in e-mail address.

And, its also more complicated because I apparently didn't finish this sentence,

I meant to say:

All his seems more complicated than it really is, perhaps because I discussed the rules for medical-only deductions before I discussed the rules for normal dependents.

-- Vic Roberts Replace xxx with vdr in e-mail address.

One of the requirements for claiming someone as a dependent is either that he did not provide more than half of his own support, or that you did provide more than half of his support. (Which test applies depends on other factors.) In either case, if his SSI or SS income is used for his support, that is counted as support provided by him, not by you. For the excruciating details of how to calculate support, I again refer you to IRS Publication 501. Bob Sandler

This does not sound right to me. Contact your state's welfare department directly.

-- D.F. Manno | snipped-for-privacy@mail.com Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning. Winston Churchill