What expenses can I include in Child Adoption Tax Credit claim? Confused about qualified costs
Hey everyone, I'm in the process of adopting a child and I'm trying to figure out all the financial stuff. I know I can claim the adoption tax credit for certain expenses, and I've read that attorney fees and agency fees are definitely covered. But I'm not totally clear on what other expenses might qualify. We've had some other costs like travel to meet the child, home study expenses, and some document preparation fees. Also spent money on background checks and fingerprinting. I want to make sure I'm claiming everything I'm entitled to but don't want to get in trouble with the IRS either. Has anyone gone through this process recently? What kinds of expenses were you able to include in your adoption tax credit claim? Really appreciate any help!
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Malik Jenkins
I'm a tax preparer who specializes in family-related tax benefits, and I've helped many clients with the adoption tax credit. The good news is that the adoption credit covers a wide range of "reasonable and necessary" expenses directly related to the legal adoption of an eligible child. Qualified expenses include: adoption agency fees, attorney fees, court costs, travel expenses (including meals and lodging while away from home), home study fees, and all the background check/fingerprinting expenses you mentioned. Document preparation and filing fees absolutely count too. The credit for 2024 adoptions that you'll claim on your 2025 taxes has a maximum of $16,810 per child. What doesn't qualify: expenses to adopt your spouse's child, expenses paid using funds from an employer adoption assistance program that were excluded from income, expenses that violate state or federal law, or expenses for a surrogate parenting arrangement.
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Freya Andersen
•Thanks so much for the detailed info! What about post-adoption expenses like therapy for the child? We're adopting a 7-year-old with some trauma history and expect some therapy costs. Also, if our employer reimburses some expenses but not all, can we claim the difference?
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Malik Jenkins
•Post-adoption expenses like therapy generally don't qualify for the adoption tax credit, even though they're certainly related to the adoption. The credit is specifically for expenses to complete the legal adoption process. Once the adoption is finalized, subsequent expenses like therapy wouldn't qualify, though you might explore if they'd be eligible as medical expenses if you itemize deductions. For employer reimbursements, you can absolutely claim the difference. If your qualified adoption expenses are $20,000, but your employer reimburses $5,000 tax-free through an adoption assistance program, you could claim up to $15,000 for the credit (subject to the maximum credit amount). Just make sure to document everything carefully.
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Eduardo Silva
After struggling with the adoption tax credit on our own and getting conflicting advice, we started using taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) and it's been a lifesaver for sorting through all our adoption expenses. We uploaded our receipts and documentation, and it automatically separated qualified from non-qualified expenses. We were missing almost $3,400 in travel expenses we didn't realize would qualify! The tool breaks down exactly which expenses apply to the adoption credit and which might qualify for other deductions.
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Leila Haddad
•I'm in the middle of adoption paperwork right now and feeling overwhelmed. Does it actually explain why certain expenses qualify and others don't? Our adoption agency gave us a vague list but I'm still confused about things like translation services for international adoption.
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Emma Johnson
•Sounds interesting but kinda skeptical. How does it handle the timing rules? Our adoption process has been going on for 3 years now and I'm confused about which tax year to claim expenses in.
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Eduardo Silva
•It absolutely explains the reasoning behind each expense classification. For international adoptions, it specifically covers translation services, immigration fees, and authentication costs - all of which generally qualify. It gives you the actual IRS references too so you can double-check. For the timing rules, it separates expenses by year and tells you exactly when to claim them. For domestic adoptions, you claim when the adoption is finalized. For international adoptions, you claim the year after you pay the expenses unless the adoption is finalized that same year. It handled our 2-year process perfectly and even flagged expenses that needed to be carried forward.
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Emma Johnson
Just wanted to follow up - I decided to try taxr.ai after my skeptical question above. What a difference! I uploaded our adoption paperwork (we're doing an international adoption from Colombia) and it organized EVERYTHING by year and told us exactly what we could claim when. Turns out I was about to claim almost $4,500 too early! It saved me from what would have been a real headache with the IRS. The explanation about when to claim international adoption expenses was super clear - way better than what my regular accountant told me.
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Ravi Patel
For anyone struggling to get answers directly from the IRS about adoption credits (like I was), I finally got through using Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). They got me a callback from the IRS in about 2 hours when I'd been trying for weeks. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I had a special situation with adopting a relative's child and needed clarification on whether certain legal expenses qualified. The IRS agent walked me through exactly what documentation I needed and confirmed which expenses qualified in my situation. Saved me from potentially losing thousands in credits!
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Astrid Bergström
•Wait, how does this actually work? Do they just call the IRS for you? I don't understand how they can get through when nobody else can.
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PixelPrincess
•This sounds like total BS honestly. The IRS doesn't prioritize calls from some random service. I've been dealing with them for years and there's no magic way to skip the line. They call you back eventually if you stay on hold long enough.
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Ravi Patel
•They don't call the IRS for you - they use technology to navigate the IRS phone system and hold your place in line. When an IRS agent is about to pick up, you get an immediate call connecting you directly to that agent. It's basically like having someone wait on hold for you, but automated. The reason it works is because their system can dial continuously, detect the specific patterns in the IRS phone tree, and keep your place in the queue. Nothing sketchy about it - you're still talking directly to the IRS yourself, just without the 3+ hour hold time. I wasted two full afternoons on hold before trying this.
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PixelPrincess
I need to eat my words from my skeptical comment above. After our adoption agency messed up some paperwork and we had an urgent question about how it would affect our tax credit, I was desperate and tried Claimyr. Got connected to an IRS agent in about 90 minutes. The agent was super helpful and confirmed that our situation wouldn't disqualify us from claiming the expenses. Look, I'm still shocked this worked, but it absolutely did. I was literally planning to take a day off work just to sit on hold with the IRS before this. For anyone doing adoptions and having tax questions, being able to actually talk to the IRS directly is invaluable - especially with the amount of money at stake with the adoption credit.
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Omar Farouk
Something that surprised me with our adoption last year - we had to pay for mandatory counseling sessions with the birth mother that were required by our agency. Our tax person initially said these wouldn't qualify for the credit but we checked with the IRS and they actually DO count as qualified adoption expenses because they were required as part of the adoption process. Just wanted to share in case anyone else has similar expenses!
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Chloe Martin
•This is super helpful! Would the same apply to required cultural training for international adoption? We're adopting from South Korea and had to take (and pay for) cultural competency courses.
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Omar Farouk
•Yes, required cultural training for international adoption would typically qualify! Since it's mandatory for completing the adoption, it falls under the "reasonable and necessary" category for the adoption process. For anyone doing international adoptions, don't forget things like visa fees, immigration costs, and translation services too. We almost missed some of these smaller expenses that added up to over $2,000.
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Diego Fernández
Anyone using TurboTax for calculating their adoption tax credit? I'm finding it really confusing to enter all the different expenses, and it's not clear how to handle expenses that got partially reimbursed through our employer's adoption assistance.
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Anastasia Kuznetsov
•I used TaxAct last year and it actually had a pretty good walkthrough for the adoption credit. There was a specific section where you could enter employer reimbursements separately from your total expenses, and it calculated the eligible amount automatically. Might be worth trying if TurboTax is giving you trouble.
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Emma Garcia
As someone who just finalized an adoption last month, I wanted to share a few things that caught me off guard with the adoption tax credit. First, keep EVERY receipt - even seemingly small ones like notary fees and certified mail costs add up. Second, if you're doing a domestic adoption and it falls through, you can still claim expenses for that failed adoption attempt on your taxes, which I had no idea about until my tax preparer told me. One thing I wish I'd known earlier - photograph or scan all your receipts immediately because some of ours from the adoption agency faded over the 18-month process. Also, if you're traveling for court dates or to meet the child, keep detailed records of mileage, hotels, and meals. We were able to claim almost $1,800 in travel expenses we initially thought might not qualify. The income phase-out limits are pretty high ($263,410-$303,410 for 2024), so most families don't need to worry about that, but it's worth checking. Good luck with your adoption journey - it's so worth it in the end!
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