Helping take care of elderly family members could come with tax credits soon

Around 600,000 are family caregivers in Wisconsin. 

Tax breaks could be on the way for those helping family members stay out of nursing homes.

Family caregiver tax credit proposals are pending both on the federal level and state level in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin AARP’s Jim Flaherty says roughly 600,000 family caregivers in the state provide assistance of some kind to elder parents or others.

The organization now is backing two proposals in Washington and Madison that would give tax credits to those people.

“What people don’t realize is that there are literally hundreds of thousand of Wisconsinites who are working, raising familes, trying to do their household work, while also providing unpaid care for their loved ones,” Flaherty said.

Provding these tax breaks is simply the right thing, Flaherty argued, for those caregivers who spend thousands out-of-pocket providing that care.

“Nobody wants to go into a nursing home,” Flaherty said. “A lot of people really just need small levels of care to maintain living in their home.

“Let’s provide as much support as we can for these unpaid caregivers. They certainly deserve it.”

In Washington, the Senate has already approved a $3,000 tax credit for family caregivers. A $1,000 credit is waiting for legislative action in Madison.

That money would would help insure the nation doesn’t crumble under long-term care costs.

“These folks are driving our economy,” Flaherty said. “If, all the sudden, they didn’t exist, we would have a mad rush into nursing homes and assisted living facilites, which are much, much more costly.”

If adopted, tax credits could have a wide-ranging impact, says Flaherty.