[Yash]

A copy of your adoption order? I copy of the AAP form?

Thanks.

[Withay]

I don't know, but would also be interested in knowing. Anyone?

[irelady10]

I also have a question...if I'm understand correctly, you can claim a foster child on your tax return if they have lived in your home for more than 6 months. does your fc need to have a social security #? thanks.

[Mystik]

Yes you can claim a foster child if you have had them over 6 months OR if you were their first home straight from the hospital. (For example a newborn is placed with you straight from the hospital on December 30th you can STILL claim them if you are their first home.

In order to claim them YES they have to have a SSN. Unfortunately for us in *B's* case she wasn't eligible for one due to the circumstances and we still won't be able to get her one for another 16 months or so when she finally has a birth certificate, because she's never had one of those either. (apparently due to financial cut backs the State of California only has 1 sole person doing ALL the adoption birth certificates and it's currently causing a 16 month wait time from adoption for these to get mailed out to newly adopted children within California!)

I did call the IRS to see if there was special exeptions considering the circumstances and of all the reasons that made her eligible they said the one thing that caused them not to be able to do a thing until we have a SSN for her is the fact that she's a FOSTER CHILD.

It's ridiculous I know, but they did tell us we can back file amendments for her up to 3 years when we finally do have her SSN, but by the time we do finally get it for her we'll be pushing close to 4 years since she first came to us and will probably never be able to do anything about the first year, but in the grand perspective of things for me... it's really a minor issue.

[pechocha]

Hey Yash,

We claimed part of the adoption credit last year, and we didn't need anything, our tax accountant knew that we have adopted, so no proof was needed, since we claimed our DD the previous year as a foster daughter. I guess you will need to show proof if you ever get audit by the IRS or if you don't know the person that is preparing your taxes. Children adopted thru foster care are considered special needs, so you are allowed to claim the full credit, and no proof of expenses are needed. Like I said, we claimed the full credit last year, and we still have some credit left for this year.

[hkolln]

Originally Posted by pechocha

Children adopted thru foster care are considered special needs, so you are allowed to claim the full credit

I don't think this is totally true. I think you may want to find out first before taking the entire credit. My understanding is they have to fit into these 3 things (taken from Instructions for Form 8839 (2007))

1. You adopted a child with special needs and the adoption became final in 2008. (In this case, you may be able to take the credit even if you did not pay any qualified adoption expenses.)
2. You paid expenses after 1996 in connection with the adoption of an eligible foreign child and the adoption became final in 2008. See the instructions for line 1, column (e), that begin on page 2.
3. You have a carryforward of an adoption credit from a prior year.

You have to prove the child is special needs. Just because you foster them doesn't necessarily mean they are automatically special needs. If you have an adoption subsidy agreement in place then they are considered special needs automatically.

[Yash]

In order to claim them YES they have to have a SSN. Unfortunately for us in *B's* case she wasn't eligible for one due to the circumstances and we still won't be able to get her one for another 16 months or so when she finally has a birth certificate, because she's never had one of those either. (apparently due to financial cut backs the State of California only has 1 sole person doing ALL the adoption birth certificates and it's currently causing a 16 month wait time from adoption for these to get mailed out to newly adopted children within California!)


OMG!!!! This is insane! Really? What are my tax dollars going to?! UGH! Do they only have 1 person doing birth certificates for children born to their biological parents? Who in the world thinks this is fair? Can I call my senator or someone about this utter nonsense?

[irelady10]

I'm almost positive there is a clause for the adoption subsidy that says if you adopt from foster care you don't need proof of expenses.

[aclee]

our attny told me that we could file for the credit with the ID number, not a SS#.

[pechocha]

Here in california, all chilldren adopted thru foster care, receive an adoption subsidy and Medi-Cal until that child reaches 18 yrs. old.

Yes, there is a clause on the adoption credit that says that if you adopted from foster care you don't need proof of expenses. And according to the IRS all children that receive an adoption subsidy are considered special needs by the state. Here is a link that explains all of that in detail.

NACAC | Post-Adoption Support

[athikers]

Hmm... we thought we could claim pixie, but it doesn't seem like it, since we get medical assistance but no subsidy.

[Boulderbabe]

Originally Posted by Withay

I don't know, but would also be interested in knowing. Anyone?

I took the tax credit, and nobody ever asked me for documentation. But I think that to take the entire sum (is it about $11,500 now?) you should have an adoption decree, plus a statement from the agency that the child is Title IV-B eligible, which would mean that the child is classified as a 'special needs' child under the law.

We got a statement like that, and the director of the agency explicitly told me that she gives it to almost all foster children, so that the parents can take the tax credit. Good to have if you get audited.

[Boulderbabe]

Originally Posted by hkolln

If you have an adoption subsidy agreement in place then they are considered special needs automatically.

Yes---this is why all of us should make sure that our kids have an official subsidy with a level of "$0," rather than no subsidy. It sounds like a trivial difference, but it's worth thousands of dollars. With a subsidy set, even if it is for zero dollars, the kids are Title IV-B eligible and qualify as special needs.

Sigh. We should make some sort of a foster parents wiki with this info in it...

[Boulderbabe]

Originally Posted by athikers

Hmm... we thought we could claim pixie, but it doesn't seem like it, since we get medical assistance but no subsidy.

Medical insurance (like Medicaid) is a subsidy! Check with your agency to see if Pixie has been classified as Title IV-B eligible. If she's on Medicaid, I bet she has been.

[Yash]

Thank you everyone for the tax information!