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Husband and I live in the Washington, DC area and we need an accountant or a tax preparer who is versed with tax laws for families who care for loved ones with dementia. This is the first year I've spent own money for husband's care and I hear the money is tax deductible. I just don't know how to do it. Any recommendations?

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I’ve been well served by H&RBlock business tax offices. Not the Block ones that appear during tax season as a quick storefront or in the mall. But those offices who are year round staffed tax offices as they do smaller & midsize businesses filings throughout the year. The one I’ve used has almost all tax pros that were enrolled IRS agents now retired. Mine used to do forensic accounting for a white shoe law firm (like follow the $ divorce stuff), she’s hysterically funny, IRS savvy as Block requires this on those that work there & knew exactly how to deal with an elders 1040/982 tax stuff in addition to the regular biz filing. A plus with Block is that the costs are established & by the forms done. Not by time like a CPA or taxation atty / LL.m. might do.
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Worried, if you have an elder attorney, you could ask her/him; professionals typically know of others in similar fields and can make recommendations.

Sometimes the pros are active in the community or provide outreach to elder groups. If you check websites, you might want to see how active the firm or specific individuals are in their fields.

When I needed a trust attorney (desperately, for the first time I had to prepare the trust 1041), I started by calling the big firms, not really expecting them to handle my needs but hoping they would offer suggestions.

I did actually find someone at a mid-size firm but the cost was prohibitive. They operated like a large law firm; the principal worked with a younger associate, who did the work which was then reviewed by the principal. Two people, two levels of charges. Too expensive for me.

I think I may have googled "accountants" or "trust accounts" and then just called several until I found one I liked. And it worked out well; he was quick and the cost was reasonable.

Although I've never tried this, you might search for a local accounting group, something comparable to the legal bar associations and contact them for a list of accountants specializing in elder care accounting.

Good luck. Let us know how you eventually find a suitable one; we can all benefit from these professional searches.
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Worriedspouse, wish we could recommend someone for you. This website is world wide, so we would need to wait for a caregiver to come on-line who is from the District to give you a recommendation.

Only thing I remember there is an income-vs-deduction equation that is used.

Like geewiz mentioned above, any reputable tax preparer should be able to answer your questions. Or you may want to establish yourself with a CPA who can help you out any time during the year. IRS laws are always changing and it is impossible for us mortals to keep up or even understand any of it :P
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Yes, dementia care does have tax benefits. Any reputable tax preparer should be able to handle this. Be sure to get a statement of expenses from the facility housing your husband and turn it over with your other statements to your tax preparer.
IRS publication 501 explains this.
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