What do you think of adoption tax credits?

Question

http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/columnist/block/2008-08-18-adoption-credit_N.htm

I mean, what if I want to go buy an armoire in France--can I get a tax credit for that?

Or can I get a 10K kickback for going to graduate school?

Why don't Americans donate the ten K to a mother, who is otherwise fit, to raise her child? Instead of adopting him/her?

I don't get it.

Answer 1

I just wanted to point out a very important part of your Q to potential answerers to this question BEFORE they get on their little soap boxes.

"Why don't Americans donate the ten K to a mother WHO IS OTHERWISE FIT to raise her child."

That excludes rapists, child-beaters, neglectful parents, and the emotionally abusive.  So don't start in with that chant, okay?

Answer 2

I have to point out that I'm a graduate student, and I in fact DO receive a tax credit every year. Not $10,000, no, of course not, because I don't pay enough tax money into the system have that much credited to me. My income and tax burden are not high enough for me to get that large of a credit-- which is perfectly fair.

A tax credit is not a welfare payment. It's not free money, it's to offset money already paid. If a mother's income is such that she would be eligible for a tax credit of that much money for ANY reason, then either her reasons for relinquishment are not financial, or she has a really inaccurate idea of the costs involved in raising a child-- neither of which would really be affected by just giving her money.

Single parents (and anyone else below the income cut-off) are already eligible to receive state aid, welfare and food stamps, sometimes WIC and free medical care if they qualify. If in some states these do not constitute a living wage, then I agree they should be raised to that standard. I also think it's really crucial for people of lower income to have access to help with money management, job training, and counseling if needed, provided at low or preferably no cost.

But just giving people more money does not automatically solve complex social problems. Life isn't that simple.

I would be completely fine with allowing the tax credit only for people who adopt from foster care. But to imply that the money could be simply taken from one person and transfered to another person (again, it's a CREDIT on money already paid) isn't really accurate. Tax credits and welfare payments are completely different in type, and in how they're administered. You can't just substitute one for the other.

If people personally want to donate money to help families in need, great! I would not discourage that at all. I just don't think tying it to the tax credit concept really works very well.

Answer 3

As conceived (to encourage foster adoptions), it is wonderful.  As implemented (used to subsidize ridiculously high agency fees for domestic infant adoption and international adoption fees), it discriminates against fertile people.   There are millions of fertile families who help their adult children financially to keep their extended families intact.  They don't get squat in kickbacks to keep their kids out of the "system".

I think that the subsidy should stay but the ONLY people who are eligible are those who adopt from foster care.

Answer 4

i don't think they existed when i was adopted thru foster care. but knowing my parents they wouldn't pocket it, they would of put it aside for my future. i say this because my parents did foster care and the check they got they put into the bank for the kid to use later on. they never used the money for themselves, it was always used for what the child wanted. i feel that adoption shouldn't cost that much to begin with, that way no tax credit is needed!

Answer 5

The poster above me is wrong.

The Adoption Tax credit was designed to help foster children get out of foster care by being adopted. Its being abused and used by people who shouldn't be able to use it and who weren't the original intended users. It wasn't drafted perfectly.

So, voices need to be shouted in the direction of amending it so that it does its original purpose.

IF it did its original purpose, i think that would be good, BUT its not, and I think the credit for the reasons its being used for is poor, and a slap in the face.

Imagine what $10000 would do to a mother surrendering her child to poverty.Gosh, she could KEEP him. Imagine that.  

Answer 6

Dear Sunny,

I think, all parents should have the same tax credits. I mean, it is the "same thing", right?!

Answer 7

ok....I understand that this is the 'money' section of USAToday, however, I don't think they could have been any more callous in their description and even their title. It all sounds very ugly.

Personally, I think if you WANT to adopt a child internationally, you should have the means to pay for the fees. If you cannot pay for the fees, there are tons of orgs out there to help you or give you a loan....but I don't believe our government should be in the business of crediting people for adopting children outside of the US. Frankly, I don't think it should happen internationally or domestically, but at the very least we should be focused on getting our own citizens out of foster care.

I have mixed feeling about this b/c I have worked in orphanages around the world and I have seen the horrible conditions and lack of opportunity and supervision that goes on.....but those children are not the ones who will be adopted by US couples.....99% of children adopted internationally are infant, toddler, and young school-aged children. The vast majority age out of orphanages. I think, if the government wants to give tax credits, it should be for things that specifically benefit our country...such as alt. fuel cars and installing energy efficient appliances and windows and doors. I don't see how wanting a child from another country is any of the government's business, much less their responsibility.  

Answer 8

Basically People for adoption have a louder voice.   All credits, subsidy's, reimbursements is as a result of lobbying and people getting together to make their voice heard.  Now that it is a law it probably won't change but there are other things that people in favor of adoption reform can do .  

Answer 9

Hi Sunny,

We are not eligible, so I'm not very informed about this tax credit.  In general, I do NOT agree with using tax payer dollars for this.  I could come up with a million better ways to spend this money, including helping young mothers.  JMHO.

Answer 10

You ask what I think of adoption tax credits?  I think that they are a legalized rape of women who have already been forced to give their children.  Every time I file my taxes I want to deduct the portion that goes to support adoption, but have no idea how to find out how much it is, since it is coming from so many  pots.  I hate being forced to contribute one more thing to adoption.  

Brax asked, what about the population of women who don't want to parent their child?  The 2% of women who don't want to parent has remained consistent thru the decades that figure has been reported.  Unfortunately, that figure is not enough domestic babies to all the oh so desperate for a BAYBEE infertile women in the US.  So, maybe they should get a grip, or a puppy or a hobby, instead of expecting the rest of us to support their desperation.  

Sandy Young

SMAAC

Answer 11

You are obviously anti-adoption already, and aagainst the tax credit, so I won't bother trying to pursuade you.

I do want to point of flaws in your reasoning.

There are tax advantages for going to school.  

There are also tax advantages for giving birth, and medical insurance as well.  You make it sound like people adopt just because they want money, and women place their babies for adoption because they don't have money.  You do not support this, and I don't think you will find support for this.

Answer 12

Obviously none of you have gone through the heartbreaking reality that is infertility.  And God forbid you ever do.  But for those of us for whom it was a reality - and who shelled out tens of thousands of dollars to try to have a family of our own through fertility treatments and then that failed - and then were faced with adoption costs, the tax credit is wonderful.  Yes, we will claim it.  I don't know why you think that just because you can procreate without needing any help, that you should be able to deny it to others.  My health insurance did not cover any of my medical bills for fertility treatments(and my infertility was caused by a ruptured appendix - not something I had control over!).  Why do people think that you don't have the right to be a parent of a newborn and that you should just be grateful to take any child that the foster system will give you?  Why should we not be given the same rights as others when it comes to building our families?  We paid for our adoption (domestic) and can afford it - but it was definitely a hardship on us and the tax credit is a huge relief to that.  Plus, $10k is not going to help much in raising a child when the cost is well over $100k in the 18 years you have to help raise them.  Some parents would take the money, find out later that they could not afford the child and then they would end up on foster care anyway.  Most of these children that are adopted domestically would end up in foster care if not taken by a loving family.  So - I hate when people generalize and don't know all of their facts.  I truly hope you are never in need...

Answer 13

I can absolutely understand why people would be upset if they were led to believe that adoptive parents receive free money to subsidize their adoption expenses with hard-earned tax payer money.

This is simply NOT true. Nobody's tax dollars are going to fund ANY adoptions and APs are not receiving $10,000 cheques. The credit is a tax break based on money that the APs paid and earned. It was ALWAYS their money, no one else's.

Plus, not everyone is eligible regardless of how much they spent on the adoption. I'm not sure how it works in the States, but in Canada, you are ineligible if you make a combined gross income of $250,000 or more annually.

In Canada, there are MANY resources open to expectant mothers, including universal healthcare, welfare, subsidized daycare, affordable housing, etc. That could also be the reason why infant domestic adoption in Canada is quiet sparse.

Answer 14

Pregnant women can get health insurance to cover some/all of the costs associated with having a child biologically.  That is not available to adoptive parents, and the tax credits help alleviate some of the financial burden.

You CAN get tax credits for education, by the way.

And, why would I want to give my hard earned money to someone who is unable to support their child?  I already give enough through taxes (against my will) that pay for food, medical care, etc.  Now I am supposed to give $10,000 as well?  By the way, that money will not go far in supporting a child.

When will the anti-adoption people realize that there are some women who can not or will not, or simply do not want to, raise their children?  What is your answer for that-to force them to raise their children?  Get a grip.

Answer 15

Adoption tax credits, like all other tax credits, are the result of industry lobbying.

Lobbyists work for the sole purpose of influencing public policy in a way that benefits their own industry.  They do not lobby for altruistic reasons.  

These tax credits were created to promote the financial interests of the adoption industry, not for the benefit of children and families.

Answer 16

I do not think the adoption tax credit is being used for it's intended purpose (to encourage people to adopt from foster care).

It is now being used for people who otherwise could not have been able to afford it to adopt infants.  People are obviously taking advantage of a loophole that should be closed.

If anything the adoption tax credit is allowing agencies to actually drive up the cost of their "fees" in infant adoption.

I have no problem with people who adopt from foster care using the tax credit but everyone else who is using it should be ashamed of themselves.  They are s******g the system.

ETA: In answer to the person above me, I don't want a single penny of government kickbacks to fund a domestic infant adoption.  I'm not working to support needy adopters who can't afford their own adoption fees.

ETA: I am perfectly aware fo the workings of a tax credit.  I still think people should not be using it if it wasn't intended for them.  AND I think it is interesting how many AP's didn't even bother to research this credit but were more than willing to take the $$.

And last I checked adoption is not a cure for infertility and should never be thought of as such.  I have plenty of empathy for people who are infertile, that doesn't mean I think they should be getting a tax credit.  SHEESH!

Answer 17

I am little confused by many of the responses saying that the tax credit was intended for and should only be available to those adopting from the foster system. The tax credit can only be used to reimburse the adoptive parents for money they spent out of pocket for eligible adoption expenses  related to the adoption process itself.  (basically you can only be reimbursed for money you actually spent on fees) Since adopting from foster-care requires adoptive parents to pay little or no adoption fees (usually a couple hundred dollars if any), then how would these families really benefit from the tax credits, and why would they go up to $11,000 in reimbursements if this was their only intended purpose? Also, adoptive parents do not recieve any of credit back until they file taxes for the year when the adoption was finalized. We didn't recieve any of the tax credit money back until over a year after our oldest son arrived home. Families who do not have the money to cover the portion of the fees covered by the tax credit will still have to get a loan, borrow money from family, etc, until the get the money back often 1- 5 yrs later (depending on how much they owe. in taxes)

I also don''t understand how a family could "donate the ten K to a mother, who is otherwise fit, to raise her child? Instead of adopting him/her?"  -If the family didn't adopt the child then there would be no fees to reimburse, and they wouldn't be eligible for the tax credit, so how would they give that money to the mother?

Also, in our case poverty was not the reason our children's birthmothers placed them for adoption, social stigmas in a very conservative culture were unfortunately a big part of the reason, which money can not change. Even if it were the issue and we were able to get the money to give to them, since their first mothers live in Seoul, the 3rd most expensive city in the world, I doubt that $10,000 would do much to support a single mother and child, especially since  no other social welfare programs would be offered to help them after the money was gone (probably about 6 months later)

Answer 18

I've used the tax credit and am happy it was available to me.  I think you need to understand what it is you're talking about before you assume this c**p.  I didn't GET $10,000 cash prior to my son's adoption.  Two years after his adoption, when it was FINALIZED, I got a $10,000 TAX break.  That's it.  Geez.

I doubt you'd get a tax credit for an armoire in France, but you could buy a nice one for way cheaper at Value City Furniture.

Yes, you do get many tax kickbacks for education.  Look into it if you want it.  You DO have to work for what you want, or do you think people just hand adoptive parents things just because?  If you want tax credits for education talk to H&R Block or something.

Why would parents donate $10k to someone when they could use it for their child?  That's pretty sorry that someone would use their hard earned money on someone else's child, especially when everyone's future is unknown to them.  Anything could happen and they may need money.

If you don't get it, still...  well, ask some people in *real* life about it.  There are different ways of earning and maybe you are not the "reading" learner.

Good luck.

Answer 19

Why can't I, an adoptee, get an adoption tax credit...to offset the hefty sum of money I was required to pay to get my records unsealed.    

Answer 20

I think its c**p. If someone can't afford to pay the going rate for a baby than, end of story.   Its the republican politicians placating their christian voters nothing more.  

Donating money to help a woman raise her child goes against their personal agenda so of course they wouldn't. The mother becomes an irresponsible freeloader for wanting to keep her child vs. giving them a baby and being a saint.  They want the baby not whats best for a child.  

Christianity equates to hypocrisy. Its goes against nature and family  preservation.

When will Ap's realize that most mothers do not want to place their children "permanently" especially women from 3rd world countries having their children kidnapped. They are forced to by the self centered agendas of foreigners and lack of gov't support  for child rights.