Assessment of the Use of Tax Credits for Families Who Provide Health Care to Disabled Elderly Relatives

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO evaluated tax relief mechanisms which are used as a way of providing financial assistance to families who care for chronically ill elderly relatives. In considering tax credits as a means of providing financial support to these families, GAO examined: (1) those financial costs that families incur when caring for their elderly disabled relatives; (2) the effectiveness of tax relief programs that currently assist families which provide care; and (3) the issues which should be considered in assessing the merits of legislative proposals for tax credits.