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About 43% of men and 36% of women ages 18 to 34 still live with parents or relatives, according to the Pew Research Center, but experts say there are a few things parents can do at聽聽to help offset the costs of letting those adult children stay in the nest. As with parenting, though, it can be a tricky endeavor.

Claim Junior as a dependent

In general, if your child isn鈥檛 making more than $4,000 per year and you鈥檙e providing more than 50% of his or her support, then he or she may still聽qualify as a dependent, says Jim Guarino, a CPA and certified financial planner at Moody, Famiglietti & Andronico in Tewksbury, Massachusetts. For the 2015 tax year, that can net parents a $4,000 exemption.

There are a few catches, adds David Haas, a certified financial planner at Cereus Financial Advisors in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey. First, you鈥檒l have to be able to prove you鈥檙e paying more than half of the child鈥檚 expenses. Second, if your child is 24 or older, has a job and isn鈥檛 disabled, you probably can鈥檛 take the exemption.

鈥淭he tax laws don鈥檛 make it easy,鈥� he says.

Make her a tenant

It鈥檚 possible to turn that basement or bedroom into a rental and have your child pay to live there, which could make a portion of your utilities and other costs deductible. You may even be able to deduct some depreciation on the house, experts say, but the strategy also has a few caveats.

鈥淚n theory, it鈥檚 an absolutely great idea. The problem is, in order to be a landlord you really need to keep track of expenses,鈥� Guarino cautions.

You鈥檒l also need to report the rental income, and those depreciation deductions could come back to haunt you when you sell your house.

鈥淲hatever you have written off as a percentage value of the house over a number of years has to then be added back in as taxable income when you go to sell the house,鈥� says Guy Baker, managing director at advisory firm Wealth Teams Solutions in Irvine, California.

鈥淚f they never sell the house, it鈥檚 really a moot point,鈥� Guarino notes, but the extra tax-prep time and costs could outweigh the savings, he says.

Hire聽your adult child

If you鈥檙e self-employed, it might be worth putting an adult child on the payroll if you鈥檙e supporting him or her anyway. The money you pay could then become a business expense instead of taxable income to you, and it shifts that money into the child鈥檚 tax bracket, which is probably lower, says David Demming, a certified financial planner at Demming Financial Services Corp. in Aurora, Ohio. Plus, he or she will have a job to do, though that may mean you can鈥檛 claim the child as a dependent.

鈥淚f you鈥檙e subsidizing your child anyway, it鈥檚 a way for the self-employed business owner to essentially deduct it,鈥� Haas adds.

Capitalize on your health coverage

聽allow workers to use pre-tax money to pay for prescriptions, copays, eyeglasses and other expenses. You may be able to use that tax-advantaged money to help cover your child鈥檚 health-related costs if he or she is still on your policy and your employer offers an FSA. Note, however, that the IRS limits how much you can put in an FSA each year. (The limit is $2,550 in 2016.)

Also, if you鈥檙e self-employed, aren鈥檛 eligible for a spouse鈥檚 employer coverage and you buy your own health insurance, it may be worth putting your child on your policy because the premium is usually deductible, Haas says.聽Remind adult children that staying on your policy can be a bargaining chip for negotiating higher pay from an employer by offering to stay off the company health plan, Guarino says.

And, he notes, you can聽remind them that moving expenses can be tax-deductible, too.

Tina Orem is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website. Email:聽torem@nerdwallet.com.

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