Fred Jenny, executive director of Port’s Long Island Alzheimer’s Foundation, joined Rep. Steve Israel at the congressman’s news conference announcing a plan to allow those caring for elderly relatives to receive up to a $1,200 tax credit for qualified elder care expenses.
Dr. Jenny spoke in support of the plan, saying that many of these caregivers cannot claim their parents as dependents because they live elsewhere, but are spending on average $5,530 out of pocket each year on expenses for their aging relatives.
Congressman Israel noted that about one-third of all adults with a parent age 65 or older say they have given a parent financial support in the past 12 months, and that in 2009 more than 61.6 million Americans reportedly served as unpaid family caregivers with an economic value of approximately $450 billion.
His proposed legislation, the Elder Care Tax Credit Act, would allow taxpayers to claim a credit for the care of dependents who are parents or in-laws if they are physically or mentally unable to care for themselves, but still live outside of the taxpayer’s home.
Long Island Alzheimer’s Foundation works to improve the quality of life for those living with Alzheimer’s disease and related forms of memory loss, and for their families. Programs are offered for people at all stages of Alzheimer’s disease. Each program provides safe, structured socialization and mental stimulation activities that are appropriate to the individual’s stage in the disease process. All take place in supportive settings, and offer meaningful activities that enable each member to participate as fully as possible. For more information, call (516) 767-6856, e-mail info@liaf.org, or visit www.liaf.org.
