Can I still claim my deceased mother as a dependent for 2024 taxes? She passed away in April

Thank you for this info. Quick follow up question - does it matter that I'm the son not the daughter? My sister is saying as next of kin she should be the one to claim mom on taxes even tho mom lived with me and I paid for everything. Also, what about medical expenses, can those be deducted too or just funeral?

The relationship doesn't matter in this case - what matters is who provided the support and where she lived. Since your mother lived with you and you provided more than half her support, you're the one entitled to claim her as a dependent, regardless of other family relationships. Regarding medical expenses, yes, you may be able to deduct qualified medical expenses that you paid for your mother. These would be included with your own medical expenses on Schedule A if you itemize deductions. Remember that medical expenses are only deductible to the extent they exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income. This could include costs for doctors, hospital care, prescription medications, and other qualifying expenses you paid before her passing.

Did they help with the estate stuff too? My mom didn't have much but she had a small life insurance policy and an old car. Do I need to file a separate tax return for her or something?

How long did the analysis take? And did you still need to talk to an actual tax person after using it or was the AI guidance enough to file on your own?

For the estate question, yes they did help with that too. In my case, they explained that since my father's assets were below the federal estate tax threshold, I didn't need to file a federal estate tax return. But they did point out that I needed to file a final personal tax return for him for the partial year. If your mom had income like Social Security for those months she was alive in 2024, you'll likely need to file a final return for her as well. The analysis was surprisingly quick - took about 15 minutes after I uploaded everything. I actually didn't need to consult with a tax professional afterward. The guidance was detailed enough that I could file confidently using my regular tax software. They explained everything in plain English and even provided specific instructions for entering everything correctly in TurboTax (which is what I use).

Wait how does this actually work? So they call the IRS for you? Do they listen to your call or something? Sounds kinda sketchy tbh.

Yeah right. Nothing gets you through to the IRS faster. This sounds like a total scam. I bet they just take your money and you still wait forever. The IRS is literally unreachable during tax season.

It's not sketchy at all actually. They don't listen to your call or anything like that. Their system basically navigates all the IRS prompts and waits on hold for you. When they finally get connected to an agent, they connect that call to your phone. So you're talking directly to the IRS, but you didn't have to waste hours waiting. No, it's definitely not a scam. I was super skeptical too because I had literally spent DAYS trying to get through to the IRS myself. But it worked exactly as advertised. I got a text when they were about to connect me, and suddenly I was talking to an actual IRS agent who answered all my questions about claiming my deceased parent. The whole process took less than 20 minutes instead of the hours I had wasted before.

What kind of documentation would you need to prove she lived with you? I don't have like a formal rental agreement or anything since she was my mom.

For proving that she lived with you, you don't need a formal rental agreement. The IRS understands family situations. Documentation can include things like her medical bills or prescriptions showing your address, her bank statements or mail coming to your address, her ID or driver's license with your address listed, or even statements from family members, neighbors, or her doctors confirming she lived with you. It's also helpful to have documentation showing that you provided more than 50% of her support. This includes records of payments for food, utilities, medical expenses, clothing, etc. Bank statements showing regular withdrawals or transfers to cover her expenses can be useful. Even a simple ledger you create showing what you spent on her support throughout the months she was with you this year can be helpful if you're ever questioned about the dependent claim.

Good point! Which state was this in? I'm in Florida so I guess I don't have to worry about state income tax but this could be important for others.

I'm in Missouri, and they have some different dependent requirements than the federal returns. Several states have their own specific rules about dependent claims, especially for deceased dependents. For instance, some states require the dependent to have lived with you for more than half the *entire* tax year, not just the portion they were alive. It's definitely worth checking your specific state's department of revenue website or calling them directly to confirm. Or if you use tax software, make sure it's properly set up for your state's rules and that you answer all state-specific questions carefully. The state tax difference might not be huge, but it's still money you don't want to leave on the table or get surprised by later.

Thank you for breaking this down so clearly, Liam. I'm still learning about all this tax stuff and this situation has been overwhelming. One question - when you mention filing a final return for my mom, do I need her Social Security number and other personal info to do that? And would that be a completely separate return from mine where I claim her as a dependent, or do they somehow connect? Also, you mentioned the funeral expenses might be deductible - is that separate from claiming her as a dependent or part of the same thing? I want to make sure I'm not double-counting anything or missing out on legitimate deductions. This is all so confusing when you're grieving.