I help support my parents by sending them money every so often. Can I deduct my gifts from my taxes?

Are money gifts to help support my parents tax dedudictible and do they have to declare my gifts as income?

I help support my parents by sending them money every so often. Can I deduct my gifts from my taxes?
No, gifts are not deductible by the giver nor taxable to the recipient. The only tax break you could get for the money you send would be if you were able to claim them as dependents. But from your question, doesn't sound like that's likely. It would have to be over 1/2 of their total support that you're giving them, and if they had over $3400 in gross income then you couldn't claim them.
Reply:If you provide over 50% of thier income you can file for an exemption.
Reply:No. Gifts are not tax deductible. If you give over $12,000 per person per year, you have to pay a gift tax, not the recipient.
Reply:Let me try to answer your question from three aspects.





1. Only gifts to qualified charitable organizations qualify as charitable deduction on your Schedule A, Itemized Deductions. Your monetary gifts to your parents are personal in nature, thus they do not qualify as your charitable deduction.





2. Your parents,as payees, do not have to include your monetary gifts to them in their gross income. On the other hand, the payer has to pay gift tax if your gifts exceed $12,000 in a year.





3. Your support to your parents might qualify you to claim them as your dependents provided you satisfy other criteria. In this case, your are entitled to $6,600 (2006) exemption deduction and you might file as Head of Household, which is more beneficial than filing as Single.





I hope this answers your question.

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