[adobe1234]

I have a question about the federal adoption tax credit. We are just getting started with the domestic adoption process. For this calendar year we will probably have expenses to include homestudy, lawyer retainer fees, adoption agency application fees, etc. But if you have not yet matched or found a specific situation, can you claim these expenses?

[finallyamom0310]

When I used Turbo Tax we weren't able to claim any till finalization was complete. Not sure about others and if I missed something when I filled out our taxes.

[chrisandaaron]

My understanding is no. If you had a "failed adoption" then you could have claimed it this year.

[joskids]

Not until the year the adoption has been finalized.

[mommamarci]

From my understanding you can claim after finalization. Or you would be able to claim the 2008 expenses on your 2009 taxes (filed in 2010.) So, no you most likely won't claim anything next year. Sorry...

Our first adoption, we had all expenses in 2006, baby placed in July. We did not finalize until March 2007, so we did not get the tax credit until March 2008. That stunk...

[sheababy]

You cannot claim them this year. However, you may not have to wait for finalization. For example, we brought our daughter home in June 2007. We did not finalize until Feb 2008. On our 2007 return we could claim the credit in the amount of expenses we incurred in 2006 (but not 2007).

Here is the link from the IRS website for the instructions on Form 8839.
Instructions for Form 8839 (2007)

[HappyHopefulMommy]

We were not able to claim any expenses for our "failed adoption". But maybe we missed something too, we also yse turbo tax. Everything said you had to be finalized and have a childs social security number.

[waiting4amiracle]

The tax code is extremely complicated when it comes to the adoption tax credit. It gets even more complicated when you start looking at the difference between international and domestic adoptions. One thing you should do as soon as possible after placement is apply to the IRS for an ATIN which will act as a substitute for a SSN until you actually have a SSN for your baby. Once the SSN is issued, you file a short form back to the IRS which helps them link the ATIN they issued to the new SSN.

We had a failed placement which was quickly followed by a successful placement. This all occurred in year "1" and finalization occurred in year "2." For our tax return for year 1 (filed in year 2) we were able to claim those expenses related to our adoption actually out of pocket in year 1. Anythign for year 2 has to wait until we file our Year 2 return in "year 3." Anyone confused yet????

I'd say no one should rely on what the various "do it yourself" tax packages allow because I used both Turbo Tax and Tax Act and got two different adoption tax credits! So even the developers of the tax packages aren't consistent with their interpretations.

No matter what, if you have not had a placement, you can't file a claim...that's just how we interpreted the Tax Code.

Good luck!

[yehudit]

Thanks! This thread is very useful.

Does anyone know if we can deduct misc ICPC expenses such as hotel and food?

Thanks,