Adoption Tax Credit Made Permanent in 2013 Taxpayer Relief

A good omen for family restoration in the new year of 2013 is contained in the legislation Congress passed late Tuesday night.  The American Taxpayer Relief Act contains a provision that extends the adoption tax credit, set at $10,000 per year. Most importantly, the provision also makes the tax credit permanent. It will become a law with President Obama’s signature.

 

Extending the adoption tax credit will continue to help adoptive families cover expenses related being a “forever family” for children in need.  “In years past, the adoption tax credit was extended on a yearly or semi-annual basis, making a less secure benefit for adopting families,” said Carrie Gordon Earl, senior director of Issues Analysis for CitizenLink. “The change to permanent status is key for making adoption possible for the more than 100,000 children in U.S. foster care, and the millions of children worldwide who need a family of their own.” Read the entire article by Bethany Monk for Citizen Link at http://www.citizenlink.com/2013/01/03/congress-approves-adoption-tax-credit-extension/.

 

Indeed, adoption is central to family restoration.  As an American phenomenon based on providing a family for a child who needs one, rather than a child for a family that wants one, adoption solidifies a central family law doctrine, the best interests of the child.  This fascinating history is set forth in my article Tracing the Foundations of the Best Interests of the Child Standard in American Jurisprudence, available at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1957143.    

 

Adoption tax credits can go a long way in assisting a child to be welcomed into a family permanently, bringing true family restoration for that child.