Deadline looming for renewal of adoption tax credit
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EVERETT, Wash. -- A significant deadline is looming for families waiting to adopt a child. The adoption tax credit, which can be worth up to $12,650, depending on a family's tax burden for 2012, is set to expire.
Sophie and David Pham of Everett were counting on that credit when they started the adoption process. They are waiting to be matched with a child, likely a boy, from Ethiopia.
Now more than a year into it, they have a room decorated and ready.
"I'm extremely happy for some reason when I come in here," David said of the bedroom. "Someday this bed will be filled, and if he has a friend or a brother, both of them can share a room."
But before they open their hearts and their home, they have to open their wallet.
"There's two trips to Ethiopia involved with the program so the total amount will be about $30,000," Sophie said.
They hope to offset those costs with the adoption tax credit. It can help hopeful parents who adopt out of foster care, through private adoptions in the U.S. or from orphanages around the world.
Julie Snyder knows the benefit of the tax credit, both as an adoptive mother, and by working at the Renton-based adoption agency World Association of Children and Parents, or WACAP. She regularly fields calls from families with the desire - if not the money - to adopt.
"Being able to tell them about this tax credit and let them know it's something that will help them offset the costs in the long run, is something that's able to be the make or break moment for people in deciding whether to pursue adoption or not," she said.
The Pham's are invested, financially and emotionally. The only piece missing is their child.
"We're in it for the long run," David said.
"We've made up our mind that either way, we're adopting," Sophie agreed. "So we'll go through the process. But we're really hoping we'll have that help of the tax credit."
House Bill 4373 is a bipartisan bill that would renew the adoption tax credit, but Congress won't take it up until after November's election.
And advocates are concerned the credit won't be made refundable.
When a tax credit is refundable, the benefit to the taxpayer can go over what they pay in federal income tax, meaning adoptive parents could get some money back to cover additional expenses.
For more information on the effort to extend the tax credit, visit www.adoptiontaxcredit.org
Sophie and David Pham of Everett were counting on that credit when they started the adoption process. They are waiting to be matched with a child, likely a boy, from Ethiopia.
Now more than a year into it, they have a room decorated and ready.
"I'm extremely happy for some reason when I come in here," David said of the bedroom. "Someday this bed will be filled, and if he has a friend or a brother, both of them can share a room."
But before they open their hearts and their home, they have to open their wallet.
"There's two trips to Ethiopia involved with the program so the total amount will be about $30,000," Sophie said.
They hope to offset those costs with the adoption tax credit. It can help hopeful parents who adopt out of foster care, through private adoptions in the U.S. or from orphanages around the world.
Julie Snyder knows the benefit of the tax credit, both as an adoptive mother, and by working at the Renton-based adoption agency World Association of Children and Parents, or WACAP. She regularly fields calls from families with the desire - if not the money - to adopt.
"Being able to tell them about this tax credit and let them know it's something that will help them offset the costs in the long run, is something that's able to be the make or break moment for people in deciding whether to pursue adoption or not," she said.
The Pham's are invested, financially and emotionally. The only piece missing is their child.
"We're in it for the long run," David said.
"We've made up our mind that either way, we're adopting," Sophie agreed. "So we'll go through the process. But we're really hoping we'll have that help of the tax credit."
House Bill 4373 is a bipartisan bill that would renew the adoption tax credit, but Congress won't take it up until after November's election.
And advocates are concerned the credit won't be made refundable.
When a tax credit is refundable, the benefit to the taxpayer can go over what they pay in federal income tax, meaning adoptive parents could get some money back to cover additional expenses.
For more information on the effort to extend the tax credit, visit www.adoptiontaxcredit.org
My husband and I are unable to have kids...we are both in our forties now and were blessed this past December with a healthy baby boy (Mason). We both work and are able to raise and care for our new child, but we did have to borrow from our 401K to pay all the initial attorney fees and court cost also the traveling which wasn't bad (adopted here in states). But with taking off work for weeks so that one of us stayed in the state that we were adopting from until all the paper work was finalized in court so we could take him home was a little costly, so the tax credit or refund would of helped us get back any lost wages from staying in hotel and taking off work for 2 to 3 weeks. I also know that there are people out there that abuse the situation just like they do with any goverment program i.e. food stamps, wic, welfare in general.  There are people like us that are able to care and love their child with everything regardless of the money. So either way I am one happy mother.
To renew the Adoption Tax Credit in it's current form actually will HURT the very children it's pretends to help. It will PREVENT children from foster care being adopted. While the original adoption tax credit was created to benefit the adoptions of special needs children, successful lobbying from adoptive parents and the adoption lobbyists have increased the credit by both the amount refunded and the range of adoptions covered. The Adoption Tax Credit now applies to domestic and international adoptions. Letting people use the credit to adopt in an otherwise competitive market does not help children in foster care. it helps the adoption industry. Historically, as the adoption tax credit went up, so do the adoption fees. In other words, the US government subsidizes the adoption industry this way through the Adoption Tax Credit." ~Claudia Corrigan D'Arcy"http://www.musingsofthelame.com/2012/09/whats-wrong-with-adoption-tax-credit.html
Shouldn't be any credit, let alone a refund. Want children? Be willing and able to pay/provide for them. Pretty simple, the love and care of a child shouldn't be subsidized by the gov't.
@theToucan You mean like the $1000 credit that people get for having their own kids?
Tax credit if you adopt a U.S child, yea ok; buying one from another country (that is basically what it is) O hell no! you should have to pay that tax credit amount to help with the U.S. kids that need adoption costs of living!
Hi, Â I would like to know the benefit to society here. Â It seems like if you cannot afford the adoption than you should not adopt.
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A tax credit to adopt a US citizen child by a US citizen couple - fine. A tax credit to import and adopt a non-US Citizen child - no.
Credit is fine. Refunds are not.Â
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The government should not be paying people to adopt kids.Â
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It's these incentives that result in foster parents who adopt a bunch of kids and treat them like crap so they can get their check.
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Families with many adopted kids can literally get 20, 30, 40, 50 thousand in rebates each year. That's crazy.Â
I disagree. There are many families out there who would like to adopt, but now will not be able to if this credit goes away. Yes, there are bad apples out there who adopt for the wrong reasons, but most do it because they love and care about kids. Losing this tax credit will mean more kids languishing on the wait list, and never getting into a loving home before they give up and lose hope. Can you imagine being, say, a 12-year old waiting to be adopted, knowing that the odds of being chosen have been dramtically reduced? It should break your heart.
@James127 -- A better procedure would be to make adoptions less expensive, not giving people tax credits, especially if it means the taxpayers are paying people to adopt. We need to do away with ALL tax credits and loop holes. Everyone, and I mean everyone ("rich" and "poor") needs to pay their fair share.Â
 @James127 "that there will be FEWER adoptions in this country as a result"
Well, maybe all those pro-lifers who say THEY will adopt need to be as good as their word...They insist that a rape victim MUST carry the child to term, THEN they can discard it to some "willing" religious family to adopt...well, now we know WHY those godly people were so high on adoption - so they would be ENTITLED to the government aid!
 @James127 "However, for a family to take on another mouth to feed, along with all of the other associated expenses, there needs to be an incentive to do just that."
Well, to take a line out of the pro-life folks playbook, if you can't afford the kid, don't get pregnant...um, adopt...
I understand what you're saying, and agree with you. I worded my last statement wrong.
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No-one should ever adopt (or take in foster kids) for the money. However, if this tax credit goes away, that is just one more nail in the coffin for those older kids especially who are waiting to be placed into a loving home. No-one can argue that if the tax creit goes away, that there will be FEWER adoptions in this country as a result. There are many families out there who would love to adopt, but can't/wont for financial reasons. The current tax credit may help push some over the fence and actually do it.
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I hope you express your feelings above to your friend. They should be ashamed. Â
 @James127 "However, for a family to take on another mouth to feed, along with all of the other associated expenses, there needs to be an incentive to do just that."
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I disagree with that statement. My husband and I don't need a financial incentive to adopt. If we adopt it will be because we want to give a child in need a home, and if we couldn't afford to feed and clothe another child by ourselves we wouldn't adopt. I have a friend who received the tax credit last year and the money isn't benefitting her adoptive son at all. She and her husband are doing a (completely unnecessary) home remodel with that money. Why should tax payers be paying for that?Â
Adoptions are already basically free through DSHS. However, for a family to take on another mouth to feed, along with all of the other associated expenses, there needs to be an incentive to do just that.
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There's nothing wrong with taxpayers paying people to adopt if that means removing kids from the wait list and getting them into homes where they are loved. Foster care (where most of these kids are now) costs money also. Getting them into loving homes means that they are FAR less likely to get into trouble when they get older.