Here are some details on the adoption tax credit:
Special Rule for Adopting a Child With Special Needs
Beginning in 2003, the maximum credit and exclusion, subject to the income and tax liability limits discussed earlier, will be allowed for the adoption of a child with special needs
even if you do not have any qualifying expenses. For 2003, the maximum amount for each is $10,160.
Child with special needs: An eligible child is a child with special needs if he or she is a citizen or resident of the United States (including U.S. possessions) and a state determines that the child cannot or should not be returned to his or her parents' home and probably will not be adopted unless adoption assistance is provided to the adoptive parents. Factors used by states to determine if a child has special needs could include:
The child's ethnic background,
The child's age,
Whether the child is a member of a minority or sibling group, or
Whether the child has a medical condition or physical, mental, or emotional handicap.
If your state has determined that the child you are adopting is a child with special needs, you should keep evidence of that fact for your records.
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So there is a little something to help us offset the expense of taking lots of time off work. Here are web links to the information:
http://tax-credit.adoption.com/
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p968.pdf
The first link has an article that says this tax credit is complicated... don't let that throw you. For those of us doing special needs adoption with low or no costs, it seems pretty darn simple! Just be sure to hang on to the information, in case your tax preparer (or Quicken!) isn't aware of the provision for special needs adoption.