I just heard this little tid-bit of information. It's pretty important.
In 2010, the adoption tax credit is $12,170.
IN 2011 THE TAX CREDIT WILL BE GONE.
This doesn't bode well for all of us families that are trying to adopt.
From what I've read and what I understand, there will be a tax credit of $5000 or $6000 for families/individuals who adopt special needs children, but there will be no credit for any other adoption.
This makes things pretty hard for adoptive families.
You may or may not know that adoption is expensive. I have seen agency fees as high as $45,000.
(I personally think that it's highway robbery, but I can't change it, so I try not to worry too much about it...)
According to the National Council for Adoption, domestic adoptions typically range from $15,000 to $40,000.
Some of the fees that an adoptive couple runs into are:
* Homestudy/Post Placement Fees
* Agency Fees
* Legal Fees
* Birthmother Expenses
* Travel Expenses
Not all agencies have all of these fees, but from what I've seen, most of them do. The travel expenses are not an agency fee, but just the travel for the adoptive couple to pick up the baby, etc. The Birthmother Expenses are not always a factor, either. The agencies usually say that it's not always reasonable to assume that a birthmother can support herself throughout her pregnancy. I can kind of understand this. When I was pregnant with my first baby (that I placed for adoption) I had a hard time working toward the end. I was really grateful for my parents! They completely supported me throughout the entire pregnancy and adoption experience - emotionally, monetarily, physically, etc. But even if I hadn't had a great support network, I wouldn't have asked for money from my daughter's parents. There's no way I would have done that. I thought the whole idea was kind of weird.
No matter where you are in the world, and whether adoption has touched your life or not, I urge you to PLEASE contact your legislators and ask them to keep the adoption tax credit permanent!
I hate to think of all those children that will end up in foster care because their true parents (the adoptive ones) couldn't adopt them because they couldn't afford it because there was no tax credit to help them out...
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