I’m a bit puzzled by this. You have 4 RNs in the family, and between you are providing 24/7 care (though perhaps the summary question is misleading). Your mother is living at home (presumably in her own house). Her problems are “age-related decline, anxiety, depression, hearing loss, heart disease, and stroke". None of these appear to require 24/7 care by a team of RNs.
Rather than worrying about your taxes, perhaps you should reconsider the whole thing? There are plenty of other care and living options for mother, selling her house should provide enough funds, and you and your three RN sisters can earn much more than $12 an hour.
Before undertaking this arrangement you should have consulted an elder law attorney. There should have been a care agreement signed by all. And yes, the income is taxable.
I am afraid the arrangement may very well cause problems with mom qualifying for medicaid. It will appear that mom withdrew the money to gift to someone since there is no paper trail. Social Security, taxes etc should have been withheld,
Does your mom own a home? When sold it has to be at market value and used for her care.
This info from your profile is important for everyone to know:
"Me and my three sisters are taking care of our mom we are all registered nurses and she pays us $12 an hour cash , she is about to run out of money and we’re all in our 60’s and do not want to take care of her 24/7 so after all her money is gone she will have to go to a nursing home , will we have to pay taxes on the money she gave us."
...and...
"...caring for my mother, who is 60 years old, living at home with age-related decline, anxiety, depression, hearing loss, heart disease, and stroke."
So to clarify, does she need round the clock help because her stroke disabled her? I'm asking because if so then she needs to apply for Medicaid for LTC (and in some states it will pay for some or all of AL or MC). Rule differ by state. You need to consult with either an elder law attorney and/or Medicaid Planner immediately. Many states have a 5-yr "look back" into her finances. Is she's been paying 3 people in cash the withdrawals are probably apparent in her banking statement and without receipts could be considered gifting, something that may delay or disqualify her.
I'm hoping one of you is her DPoA or someone is her legal guardian. Her Medicaid app can be filled out by pretty much anyone (no PoA or guardianship required). That person will need access to her current financial documents and info, her SSN, other assets, medical bills, etc. You can find a pdf of the app online in the social services dept for her county to see what info is needed. The app takes about 3 months to be approved.
Being in a Medicaid bed almost always means a shared room. Start researching facilities that accept Medicaid as there may be waiting lists. If she can go into a good one on private pay then she gets first dibs on their Medicaid bed when it opens up and she qualifies and bypasses the external waiting list. I wish you success in getting her transitioned. I can only imagine how tired you all are...
You are being paid and yes, must file this. Keep careful records; at this rate, unless there is wealth here, your Mom will require medicaid at some point and the lookback will consider this a matter of gifting. You need the advice of an attorney; if your Mom can afford this cost she can afford an attorney to draw up a care plan. And yes, you will have to file. At 12.00 an hour you aren't earning enough in wages for it to matter under IRS (if this is your only income) but the normal things must be followed and hopefully whomever is POA is keeping meticulous records of ALL OF THIS. That is a legal fiduciary duty under the law.
Rather than worrying about your taxes, perhaps you should reconsider the whole thing? There are plenty of other care and living options for mother, selling her house should provide enough funds, and you and your three RN sisters can earn much more than $12 an hour.
Before undertaking this arrangement you should have consulted an elder law attorney. There should have been a care agreement signed by all. And yes, the income is taxable.
I am afraid the arrangement may very well cause problems with mom qualifying for medicaid. It will appear that mom withdrew the money to gift to someone since there is no paper trail. Social Security, taxes etc should have been withheld,
Does your mom own a home? When sold it has to be at market value and used for her care.
"Me and my three sisters are taking care of our mom we are all registered nurses and she pays us $12 an hour cash , she is about to run out of money and we’re all in our 60’s and do not want to take care of her 24/7 so after all her money is gone she will have to go to a nursing home , will we have to pay taxes on the money she gave us."
...and...
"...caring for my mother, who is 60 years old, living at home with age-related decline, anxiety, depression, hearing loss, heart disease, and stroke."
So to clarify, does she need round the clock help because her stroke disabled her? I'm asking because if so then she needs to apply for Medicaid for LTC (and in some states it will pay for some or all of AL or MC). Rule differ by state. You need to consult with either an elder law attorney and/or Medicaid Planner immediately. Many states have a 5-yr "look back" into her finances. Is she's been paying 3 people in cash the withdrawals are probably apparent in her banking statement and without receipts could be considered gifting, something that may delay or disqualify her.
I'm hoping one of you is her DPoA or someone is her legal guardian. Her Medicaid app can be filled out by pretty much anyone (no PoA or guardianship required). That person will need access to her current financial documents and info, her SSN, other assets, medical bills, etc. You can find a pdf of the app online in the social services dept for her county to see what info is needed. The app takes about 3 months to be approved.
Being in a Medicaid bed almost always means a shared room. Start researching facilities that accept Medicaid as there may be waiting lists. If she can go into a good one on private pay then she gets first dibs on their Medicaid bed when it opens up and she qualifies and bypasses the external waiting list. I wish you success in getting her transitioned. I can only imagine how tired you all are...
You need the advice of an attorney; if your Mom can afford this cost she can afford an attorney to draw up a care plan. And yes, you will have to file. At 12.00 an hour you aren't earning enough in wages for it to matter under IRS (if this is your only income) but the normal things must be followed and hopefully whomever is POA is keeping meticulous records of ALL OF THIS. That is a legal fiduciary duty under the law.