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tax credit and reimbursements
Below is a quote from adoption.com's own page on the adoption credit. I have also included a quote from the IRS official website. This particular tax topic is dated November 4, 2008 on the IRS website.
I am a CPA who has experience with taxes. I also checked my CCH tax guide (CCH is the single largest producer of tax research materials) and it said the same thing as the IRS website and the adoption.com page.
I hope you are right about being able to take both for the same expenses. That would be a big benefit for a lot of people. However, it would be really unusual for the IRS to give the taxpayer a tax break for something their employer has already reimbursed. I can't speak to what H&R Block is refering to, but I would ask them to provide you with support. If you ever get audited, you could be subject to large penalties if they are wrong. Remember, most of the people working at H&R Block are not accountants and have only a few weeks of training.
Adoption.com Site
"You may claim both a credit and an exclusion for expenses of adopting an eligible child. For example, you may be able to claim a credit of up to $10,960 and also exclude up to $10,960 from your income. However, you cannot claim both a credit and an exclusion for the same expense. "
Per the IRS Website:
Topic 607 - Adoption Credit
You may be able to take a tax credit for qualifying expenses paid to adopt an eligible child (including a child with special needs). The adoption credit is an amount subtracted from your tax liability. Although the credit generally is allowed for the year following the year in which the expenses are paid, a taxpayer who paid qualifying expenses in the current year for an adoption which became final in the current year, may be eligible to claim the credit on the current year return. The adoption credit is not available for any reimbursed expense. In addition to the credit, certain amounts reimbursed by your employer for qualifying adoption expenses may be excludable from your gross income.
Kevin
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