This is a shameless plug for the Federal Adoption Tax Credit (ATC). The credit which helps families offset the high cost of adoption has bills pending in both the house and senate. The credit is set to expire at the end of this year if it is not renewed.
When we began our adoption of Eliza, we were aware of the ATC but it was not a refundable credit then, and since we are a lower-middle income family and had very little tax burden, the ATC would not have helped us much if at all. Part way through our adoption process of Eliza, the ATC was made refundable (but only for 2010-2011), so we were able to take advantage of it. We thought we would use the ATC money to pay off the loans for Eliza's adoption, but God had other plans for that money.
Shortly after we finalized Eliza's adoption, God opened our hearts to Faith. He showed us this precious older child with cerebral palsy, and our hearts fell in love with her. If we had not received the ATC from Eliza's adoption, we would not have been able to pursue the adoption of Faith. We used the ATC from our adoption of Eliza to bring our lovely Faith home to her forever family.
Here's the bad news, as it stands now, the ATC is no longer refundable, and we will not benefit from it for our adoption of Faith. This leaves us with a large amount of debt that will take us quite some time to pay off. Don't get me wrong, our daughters are priceless treasures to us. We cannot put a price tag on having them home with us. But having said that, I believe it is very likely that we would not have even considered pursuing Faith's adoption if the ATC was not available to help us.
Since the adoption process can be quite lengthy, usually taking years, and the ATC was only refundable for 2 years, there are many families like ours that started the adoption process hoping to take advantage of the refundable ATC, but it has expired before they could finalize their adoption. This leaves many adoptive families with a lot of financial burden. Furthermore, making the ATC permanent and refundable would very likely encourage many families to expand their families through adoption, who would otherwise find it financially impossible. Contrary to popular belief, by in large adoptive parents are not typically wealthy, most are middle-class working families like ours who simply have the desire to give a child in need a loving home.
We believe that every child deserves a permanent loving family, and that many children wait because of the expense of the adoption process. We urge you to contact your senators and representative and ask them to support the bills to make the ATC permanent and refundable. In doing so, you will likely be helping many many children find their way from an orphanage or foster home into a permanent home where they can be loved and nurtured unconditionally.
Visit www.adoptiontaxcredit.org to find out more information about how you can voice your support for these tax bills.
When we began our adoption of Eliza, we were aware of the ATC but it was not a refundable credit then, and since we are a lower-middle income family and had very little tax burden, the ATC would not have helped us much if at all. Part way through our adoption process of Eliza, the ATC was made refundable (but only for 2010-2011), so we were able to take advantage of it. We thought we would use the ATC money to pay off the loans for Eliza's adoption, but God had other plans for that money.
Shortly after we finalized Eliza's adoption, God opened our hearts to Faith. He showed us this precious older child with cerebral palsy, and our hearts fell in love with her. If we had not received the ATC from Eliza's adoption, we would not have been able to pursue the adoption of Faith. We used the ATC from our adoption of Eliza to bring our lovely Faith home to her forever family.
Here's the bad news, as it stands now, the ATC is no longer refundable, and we will not benefit from it for our adoption of Faith. This leaves us with a large amount of debt that will take us quite some time to pay off. Don't get me wrong, our daughters are priceless treasures to us. We cannot put a price tag on having them home with us. But having said that, I believe it is very likely that we would not have even considered pursuing Faith's adoption if the ATC was not available to help us.
Since the adoption process can be quite lengthy, usually taking years, and the ATC was only refundable for 2 years, there are many families like ours that started the adoption process hoping to take advantage of the refundable ATC, but it has expired before they could finalize their adoption. This leaves many adoptive families with a lot of financial burden. Furthermore, making the ATC permanent and refundable would very likely encourage many families to expand their families through adoption, who would otherwise find it financially impossible. Contrary to popular belief, by in large adoptive parents are not typically wealthy, most are middle-class working families like ours who simply have the desire to give a child in need a loving home.
We believe that every child deserves a permanent loving family, and that many children wait because of the expense of the adoption process. We urge you to contact your senators and representative and ask them to support the bills to make the ATC permanent and refundable. In doing so, you will likely be helping many many children find their way from an orphanage or foster home into a permanent home where they can be loved and nurtured unconditionally.
Visit www.adoptiontaxcredit.org to find out more information about how you can voice your support for these tax bills.
