Tax Tip 2023-06: The adoption tax credit helps families with adoption-related expenses

Internal Revenue Service (IRS) sent this bulletin at 01/23/2023 10:53 AM EST

IRS Tax Tips

January 23, 2023

Issue Number: Tax Tip 2023-06

The adoption tax credit helps families with adoption-related expenses

The adoption tax credit lets families who were in the adoption process during 2022 claim up to $14,890 in eligible adoption expenses for each eligible child. Taxpayers can apply the credit to international, domestic, private and public foster care adoptions.

Things to know about claiming the credit:

To claim the adoption credit, taxpayers complete Form 8839, Qualified Adoption Expenses and attach it to their tax return. They use this form to figure how much credit they can claim.
There are income limits that affect the amount of the credit.
The adoption tax credit is non-refundable. It will reduce a tax bill but won’t result in a refund, even when the amount of credit is greater than the tax bill. However, a taxpayer can carry their leftover credit forward and apply it to future tax returns for up to five years.

Who is considered an eligible child
An eligible child is an individual who is under the age of 18 or is physically or mentally incapable of caring for themself.

Qualified expenses
Qualified adoption expenses include such things as:

Adoption fees
Court costs and legal fees
Adoption related travel expenses like meals and lodging
Other expenses directly related to the legal adoption of an eligible child

Expenses may be deductible even if the taxpayer pays them before an eligible child is identified. For example, some future adoptive parents pay for a home study at the beginning of the adoption process. These parents can claim the fees as qualified adoption expenses.

Qualified adoption expenses do not include expenses that a taxpayer pays to adopt their spouse’s child. They may, however, include adoption expenses paid by a registered domestic partner if that partner lives in a state that allows a same-sex second parent or co-parent to adopt their partner's child.

More information:
Form 8839, Qualified Adoption Expenses
Topic No. 607 Adoption Credit and Adoption Assistance Programs

Share this tip on social media -- #IRSTaxTip: The adoption tax credit helps families with adoption-related expenses. http://ow.ly/nrLf50MxU4S

Thank you for subscribing to IRS Tax Tips, an IRS e-mail service. For more information on federal taxes please visit IRS.gov.

This message was distributed automatically from the IRS Tax Tips mailing list. Please Do Not Reply To This Message.

Update your subscriptions, modify your password or email address, or stop subscriptions at any time on your Subscriber Preferences Page. You will need to use your email address to log in. If you have questions or problems with the subscription service, please contact subscriberhelp.govdelivery.com.

This service is provided to you at no charge by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Tax Tip 2023-06: The adoption tax credit helps families with adoption-related expenses

Useful Links:

News Essentials

The Newsroom Topics

IRS Resources

Issue Number: Tax Tip 2023-06