Taxes!

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Greetings,

This is a question for any person or parent of a person with autism. Taxes. Yes, it’s that time of year and I have a question if anyone has dealt with this. There is a strong current of autism in both my and my wife’s family. We have an adult son with autism, diagnosed. However, he does NOT collect disability—yet it’s clear that he is a dependent and will remain that way for the foreseeable future.

This past year he turned the magic age of 24, which means he is no longer a “dependent” UNLESS he has a “disability.” He does NOT collect SSI or anything like that. Does anyone here know if they have been declared as a dependent on their parents tax forms without actually being someone collecting disability payments from the State? Probably I should see a tax guy, but I was wondering if anyone else has had to navigate the tax system with autism.

Thanks!

Is your son going to college or working?

I can't speak to American taxes, but here in Canada either the individual or caretaker can claim a "disability tax credit," IF we get our doctors to fill out forms and send them off to the tax man to apply for it. Once approved they'll apply it retroactively for 10 years and then it's good for life. People can get the same tax credit for all sorts of disabilities - adhd, autism, being deaf etc. Just needs to be legit and have a doctor fill out and sign off on forms. This is entirely separate from people who collect disability as their main source of income as you don't need to be on disability At All in order to get this tax credit.. which basically just reduces your taxable income/give you a little extra on your tax return.

I don't Know, but I'd imagine there's something similar in the US. Definitely worth a call to a tax preparer type person or two to ask. Then you can do some research online before making a doctors appointment to get forms filled out & have a few duckies in a row. (I Just went through this process for myself and mailed off forms today to see if I'll get approved for tax credit based on formal adhd diagnosis and symptoms that impact my life.)

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No for supporting trump. Because doing so is deplorable.

Thanks for your input.

No, he is not in school or working. He’s not really cut out for manual labor however, he is very bright. Problem is that his particular talents do not lend themselves to immediate self support, therefore he lives at home.

Interesting about Canadian tax laws. I’ll need to just go ahead and see if I can get some tax advice here in the States. I’m sure there’s some kind of free service available.

Thanks for sharing!

When I lived with my parents till I turned 30, they declared me as an adult dependent based on my income & that they were paying for the majority of the household expenses. However when I was working I might not have been considered a dependent due to my income. I don't think my SSI counted or if it did it was not high enough to stop me from being claimed. Me being disabled or in school did not mater for their taxes either. However if I had certain disabilities they woulda qualified for a bigger tax break, like if I was considered legally blind. That was 11 years ago thou so taxes might be different now.

I did some quick googling & it looks to me like your son could be claimed as an adult dependent. The basic criteria for claiming adult dependents are the adult's gross income, if they live with you, & if you pay for the majority of their expenses.