A House proposal that would have done away with the adoption tax credit was dropped on November 2nd under a great deal of pressure. Charles Johnson of the National Council for Adoption, along with others, executed their clear goal. His organization represents adoption agencies and adoption attorneys. Together he and advocates like him worked tirelessly to fight a change that would have eliminated the adoption tax credit. The credit is beneficial to adoptive families by providing reimbursement for some of their adoption costs.
A scheduled cut in the tax code was ready to take place before receiving a major pushback by parents and others in the adoption community. Michaela Sims Stewart, President of Sims Strategies and spokeswoman for Adoption Tax Credit Working Group, brought together bipartisan support to insist the House leadership drop the change. Adoption advocates expected immense support from parents, but what they didn’t expect is for groups like Focus in the Family, National Right to Life, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and the LGBT to get involved.
The adoption tax credit originated as a way to encourage parents to adopt. It offers a credit for certain expenses such as adoption fees, court costs, attorney fees, and traveling expenses. The tax credit is available on a per child basis, so if you have two children adopted in the same year the total would double. Parents who have adopted a child with special needs may claim the entire credit amount for that year. International adoptions are eligible as well. In order to be eligible for such credits, you should keep good records and copies of documentation as you will most likely need to present them to the Internal Revenue Service. Many states also have adoption tax benefits that are in addition to the federal credit.
