When I travel through our communities, I often meet families caring for elderly parents or relatives.
Our elders are living longer, healthier lives, but this comes with some consequences: The costs associated with living an independent and high-quality life continue to increase.
To help those who are saddled with these additional costs, I have introduced a bill to give financial relief to middle-class families caring for aging relatives.
It is a difficult and common dilemma. Nearly half of adults in their 40s and 50s have a parent age 65 or older and are either raising a young child or giving financial support to a grown child.
The choice between paying for care for elderly relatives and one’s family can feel impossible and overwhelming.
But it does not have to be this way.
My plan would allow those caring for elderly relatives to receive a tax credit up to a $1,200 for qualified elder care expenses.
This would allow middle-class families in New York to claim their elderly relatives who live elsewhere as dependents on their tax returns and receive a tax credit to ease their financial burden.
It is simply common sense.
Steve Israel
U.S. Representative
(D-Melville)
