TP Claims, I pay more than 1/2 of my Mothers Support. I do not see it. Am I missing something?

[Donald Hughes]

Mother has SS Income of $28,379 Gross - Medical Premiums and Care $9,146 - Other Auto expense of $4,920 = $14,313 Net (Discretionary Income).

Daughter Pays Housing, Utility, Food, Cable Expenses of $27,525 and there are four in the household = for each    $6,881

I explained that there is (pretax - there should be no Federal or State Tax due since mother only has SS Income) Discretionary Income of the mother is more than twice what the daughter states she pays for her support.

I told her she can-not claim mom, your thoughts please.

[Lion EA]

How much does mother pay toward her own support? How much does daughter pay toward mother's support? Who pays more than 50%?

[Patrick Michael]

The mother's discretionary income does not matter when looking at the support test. 

Food, clothing, shelter, education, medical and dental care, recreation, and transportation make up support amount. The amount she saves, gives to charity, gifts the the kids and grandkids, etc., are not considered in determining her support amount.

The amount of support for shelter costs takes into account the fair rental value of the lodging, including a reasonable allowance for the use of appliances, utilities, and furniture, not the actual amount spent.  So if it would cost the mother $1,000 a month to rent a furnished apartment equivalent to what the daughter is providing, that is the amount used for the 50% support test.

 

[jklcpa]

Support worksheet from Pub 501, page 14 should help you.  Sorry, I tried to post with an attachment but the forum wouldn't accept the pdf.

Support Worksheet from pub 501.pdf

Link to pub 501.  The support worksheet is in it.

https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-publication-501

Edited November 14, 2024 by jklcpa
Added link

[Donald Hughes]

17 hours ago, Lion EA said:

How much does mother pay toward her own support? How much does daughter pay toward mother's support? Who pays more than 50%?

Mother pays $14,066 Daughter pays $6881. Thank you.

 

17 hours ago, Lion EA said:

How much does mother pay toward her own support? How much does daughter pay toward mother's support? Who pays more than 50%?

 

[jklcpa]

2 hours ago, Donald Hughes said:

Mother pays $14,066 Daughter pays $6881. Thank you.

Please revisit Patrick Michael's explanation above and complete a support worksheet. "Support" includes items not paid or having a direct association with the mother's bills so you can't just add up some bills that were paid. The FMV of housing is one such example, and the support worksheet will guide you in its calculation and allocation to the mother because the number of people n the household are factored in.

[Terry D EA]

I have to agree with the others, please revisit the worksheet. I tried to click on the one Judy posted but got an error. Try this one. You may have to copy and paste it in your browser.

worksheet_for_determining_support.pdf