How to Save a Substantial Amount of Money When Adopting a Child

November 3rd, 2007 • Related • Filed Under • by admin

Going through an adoption process can be draining both financially and emotionally. Quite often the process you go through will take over a year and your entire life will be looked over with a microscope. You’ll also end up paying anywhere from $10,000 to $30,000 to make the process happen, and that’s a lot of money for most families. Fortunately there are several things that you can do to add another member to your family without going broke.

Tax Deductions – The federal tax code permits parents who adopt up to a $11,000 exclusion of taxes on any money that comes from a company as adoption assistance and up to $11,000 as a tax credit against any costs spent toward an adoption. This number increases slightly each year, so you might be able to take a greater deduction in years to come. The full exclusions can be taken for any family that has a modified adjusted gross income of up to $164,000. Families making up to $205,000 can take a portion of the tax credit. For more information on this credit, go to the IRS website and look up tax topic 607.

State Grants – This is going to very on a state by state basis, but some states provide assistance grants up to $2,000 to help you make an adoption happen. You’ll have to check into your state’s specific laws and regulations to determine if there are grants or state tax-credits available to you.

Company Adoption Assistance – Many larger companies and organizations offer employee adoption assistance as a benefit. Not every company will offer this for you, but it’s worth looking into. A website called the Adoption Friendly Workplace is offering a search tool that will tell you what companies in your area provide employee adoption assistance.

Pick the Right Adoption Agency – When choosing an agency to facilitate the adoption, don’t go with the first one you find. You’ll find a substantial price difference between the different agencies in your region, so interview them and make sure you’re paying a fair price to adopt.

Welcoming a stranger into your home and making them a member of the family is one of the most selfless things one can do, but it can be very expensive. Follow these tips to make the adoption process go much smoother.