As a single parent, you undoubtedly have to make some important and challenging decisions on a regular basis. One of those is likely to be how you do your taxes and which deductions you should take advantage of at tax time. Due to the complexity of the current tax codes and the how difficult it can be to be sure that you have gotten the most benefit from the available write-offs, it is a good idea to discuss the following advice with your tax preparation expert.
See If You Can Write off Any of the Child Care Expenses
In some instances, it is possible to write off some or all of the child care costs for eligible children. However, as you might expect, there are some stringent details that will limit your ability to do so.
For example, your children need to be under a certain age to qualify as a deductible expense, unless he or she is disabled and requires that level of supervision or assistance due to health challenges. Otherwise, you can deduct up to 35% of the total cost of your childcare expenses, as evidenced by the presence of receipts, billing statements, etc. Applicable children must be under the age of 12 and cannot be taken care of by the other parent of the child. There is no age limit for disabled dependents, and you can include summer camps and similar experiences with the child care expenses.
Ask When You Can and Cannot Deduct Medical Expenses
Given the recent changes to medical insurance in the United States, the future changes that could easily occur as the result of the Trump presidency, and the fact that many parents are asked to divide the uncovered medical expenses as part of the child custody agreement, there is not a one-size-fits all statement that can make it easy to always know what you can or cannot write off from one year to the next. That is especially true if one or more of your kids have a long-term illness, which would probably make your out-of-pocket expenses higher in some years.
However, in general, anything you deduct as a medical expense must be a bill that you have paid your portion of. That means that if you contested part or all of the bill, the facility provided you a discount for part of the expense or if it was not paid at the end of the year, you cannot deduct it. If the other parent of your children paid part of it, you can only deduct what you did pay. Fortunately, you can deduct everything you paid for medically necessary services, but elective cosmetic procedures, like a nose job for the self-conscious teenager, cannot be included.
In conclusion, tax preparation can be tricky, especially for single parents, due to the variety of deductions that you may qualify for. Since you and your family are likely to benefit from from getting the most money back as possible in your tax return or paying the smallest amount of money you can in taxes, you should plan to speak with your tax preparation expert about the tips listed above at your earliest convenience.
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