Can we list my mom as a dependent and as child care provider on taxes?

[Anonymous]

My mom lives with us. We paid $12,000 of her expenses last year. We write her a check every other week. But, we also provide housing, utilities, and food on top of that. Is she our dependent for tax purposes as well?

[Anonymous]

We had that same arrangement. We did not claim her as a dependent. Instead, we set up a tax ID through our accountant and employed my mom. We then signed up for the 5k dependent care account through my employer. They deducted pretax money from my paycheck. I pay my mom, get a receipt, turn receipt into my dependent care account provider which was Aetna then I'd get reimbursed.

This was easier than claiming my mom as a dependent and having to prove through receipts that I was paying for all her expenses.

[Anonymous]

But aren't you paying out a bunch more money than you need to in nanny taxes to have your mom as a household employee?

[Anonymous]

No, OP. You cannot do that. Think about it for a second.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We had that same arrangement. We did not claim her as a dependent. Instead, we set up a tax ID through our accountant and employed my mom. We then signed up for the 5k dependent care account through my employer. They deducted pretax money from my paycheck. I pay my mom, get a receipt, turn receipt into my dependent care account provider which was Aetna then I'd get reimbursed.

This was easier than claiming my mom as a dependent and having to prove through receipts that I was paying for all her expenses.

That's not responsive to the OP's question, is it? She wants to do both. Which she cannot do.

[Anonymous]

You cannot claim her both as a dependent and as someone caring for your children.

Here is some info on the test for claiming her as a dependent

http://blog.turbotax.intuit.com/2013/03/26/can-you-claim-a-parent-as-a-dependent/