15-30-2366. Credit for expense of caring for certain elderly family members. (1) There is a credit against the tax imposed by this chapter for qualified elderly care expenses paid by an individual for the care of a qualifying family member during the taxable year.

(2) A qualifying family member is an individual who:

(a) is related to the taxpayer by blood or marriage;

(b) (i) is at least 65 years of age; or

(ii) has been determined to be disabled by the social security administration; and

(c) has a family income of $15,000 or less for an unmarried individual and $30,000 or less for a married individual for the taxable year.

(3) For purposes of this section, "family income" means, in the case of an individual who is not married, the gross income, including all nontaxable income, of the individual or, in the case of a married individual, the gross income, including all nontaxable income, of the individual and the individual's spouse.

(4) Qualified elderly care expenses include:

(a) payments by the taxpayer for home health agency services, personal-care attendant services and care in a long-term care facility, as defined in 50-5-101, that is licensed by the department of public health and human services, homemaker services, adult day care, respite care, or health care equipment and supplies:

(i) provided to the qualifying family member;

(ii) provided by an organization or individual not related to the taxpayer or the qualifying family member; and

(iii) not compensated for by insurance or otherwise;

(b) premiums paid for long-term care insurance coverage for a qualifying family member.

(5) The percentage amount of credit allowable under this section is:

(a) for a taxpayer whose adjusted gross income does not exceed $25,000, 30% of qualified elderly care expenses; or

(b) for a taxpayer whose adjusted gross income exceeds $25,000, the greater of:

(i) 20% of qualified elderly care expenses; or

(ii) 30% of qualified elderly care expenses, less 1% for each $2,000 or fraction of $2,000 by which the adjusted gross income of the taxpayer for the taxable year exceeds $25,000.

(6) The dollar amount of credit allowable under this section is:

(a) reduced by $1 for each dollar of the adjusted gross income over $50,000 for a taxpayer whose adjusted gross income exceeds $50,000;

(b) limited to $5,000 per qualifying family member in a taxable year and to $10,000 total for two or more family members in a taxable year;

(c) prorated among multiple taxpayers who each contribute to qualified elderly care expenses of the same qualified family member in a taxable year in the same proportion that their contributions bear to the total qualified elderly care expenses paid by those taxpayers for that qualified family member.

(7) A deduction or credit is not allowed under any other provision of this chapter with respect to any amount for which a credit is allowed under this section. The credit allowed under this section may not be claimed as a carryback or carryforward and may not be refunded if the taxpayer has no tax liability.

(8) In the case of a married individual filing a separate return, the percentage amount of credit under subsection (5) and the dollar amount of credit under subsection (6) are limited to one-half of the figures indicated in those subsections.

History: En. Sec. 1, Ch. 469, L. 1989; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 670, L. 1991; amd. Sec. 47, Ch. 546, L. 1995; Sec. 15-30-128, MCA 2007; redes. 15-30-2366 by Sec. 1, Ch. 147, L. 2009.