[Net933]

Hi,

I am single and make about 33,000 year. If I adopt and finalize this year and pay about 10,000 for the adoption, how will that work in how much money I get back. I own my own home and get about 1800 back a year. I do claim 0, so they take the most taxes out. Just wanted to know if anyone is in the same boat and have done their taxes and how much refund did you get for adopting.

Thanks, Net

[jheald]

We found we did better by not claiming any of the adoption expenses this year because of our lower income. So we chose to wait until next year to claim them (and lose the lower amount paid in 2003) so we have five years from then to get some of the benefit back. We'll probably never have enough income to get a whole lot of the $10,000 available though.

[chieffan9]

Net,
Pay no attention to the 1800 that you get back. If your income and expenses, etc. are similar this year, then you'll get that back again next spring. However, you'll ALSO get back whatever your TAX LIABILITY is as well. Take a look at your tax return for this year and look at the line that says "TOTAL TAX". This is the tax that you paid for the year. This is the amount that you would get back in a tax credit. If your TOTAL TAX = zero, then you will just get your normal 1800 or so. If it is greater than zero, you will get back the 1800 or so, PLUS whatever the TOTAL TAX number is.
Chris

[Net933]

Thanks Chris. That really helped me out and easy to understand. I looked on my total tax and it's about 2500. NOw will I get that back for the next five years or until i've reached 10,000 with my total tax? Also, will my total tax change when I pay for the adoption or will it stay the same?

Net