Article adapted from this
U.S. News and World Report article by Susan Johnston
Domestic and international adoption can cost
thousands of dollars, but grants, tax credits and fundraising can offset costs.
If they take advantage all the financial resources
available, moderate-income families can adopt a child debt-free.
Each year, U.S. citizens adopt over
100,000 children, according to the Child Welfare Information Gateway. Costs
can range from very little for adopting a child from foster care to $40,000 or more for a private domestic
adoption, says Nicole Witt, executive director of The Adoption Consultancy in
Florida.
Here’s a comprehensive look at
strategies that adoptive families use to cover costs.
Adoption tax credit: For 2014, the IRS gives adoptive parents a maximum adoption
tax credit (to offset qualified adoption
expenses such as legal fees and travel costs) of $13,190 per child, which
phases out for modified adjusted gross incomes between $197,880 and $237,880.
“If you adopt twins, then you can claim double the tax credit,” Witt says. “Or
even if you have a [domestic adoption] situation that falls through, you can
claim it towards the expenses that you've lost.” The credit cannot exceed your
tax liability, but you can carry any excess credits into the following year.
Consult your tax preparer if you're unsure of how this applies to you.
Adoption grants: Jeremy Resmer and his wife raised over $47,000 so they can
adopt twin girls from Congo debt-free and about two-thirds of that money came
from grants. (The Congolese government has put all adoptions on hold, so
Resmer, his wife and their 3-year-old son are currently living in the Congo bonding
with the girls and waiting for the adoption to finalize.) The pair did
exhaustive research on adoption grants, and Resmer wrote and published an
e-book called “Fund Your Adoption: A Step-By-Step Guide To Adopt Debt-Free.”
“We had to look in a million different places to find all the grants,” he says.
“Sometimes income eligibility requirements will come in. Some organizations
will only provide grants for domestic adoptions.” Because the application
process can be time-intensive (collecting letters of recommendation, for
instance), the couple applied for 10 grants that they felt they most closely
fit the award criteria, and also looked at grants with the highest award
ranges. They were awarded six of them.
Not everyone will qualify for grants
because some are income-based. However, a growing number of employers now offer
adoption assistance. In fact, a 2012 Aon Hewitt survey of 1,000 major U.S.
employers found that over half offered this benefit, compared to 12 percent in
1990. Fingerman says these benefits can range between $2,000 and $10,000
depending on the employer.
Loans: Sometimes people take a short-term
loan to cover adoption costs and use
their tax return (with the adoption tax credit) to repay the loan. “There are
adoption loans out there, but I always tell my clients just because a loan has
the word ‘adoption’ in front of it doesn’t mean it has most favorable terms,”
Witt says. “Explore a general loan, home equity loan and see what the best
terms are.” Not everyone has home equity they can borrow from, but Witt says
having a line of credit ready to cover adoption expenses can be smart (so long
as you're realistic about what you can afford). “You don't know exactly how
much you're going to need and when you're going to need it,” she explains.
Some people also get a gift or
interest-free loan from parents who want to be grandparents. “People sometimes
have to travel to other parts of the country where the birth mother lives, so
families have given them frequent flier miles or points to the Marriott,”
Fingerman says.
Fundraising: Many people saving up for adoption take
on a second job or plan fundraising events – Resmer
did both. Friends, family and members of a religious community have long been a
source of financial help for adoptive families, but online crowdfunding for
adoption costs puts a 21st century twist on this tradition, which Witt says can
be controversial. "On the one hand, it can be great because people love to
help," she says. On the other hand, some parents worry contributors could
"say something inappropriate in front of the child about how they helped
pay for them," she says.
Witt has seen other families sell
adoption T-shirts to friends and family members or temporarily rent
out the room intended as a nursery for extra
cash. Resmer's family raised several thousand dollars through an adoption
carnival hosted by a local church. "They had dunk tanks, carnival rides,
all sorts of food and a bake sale," he says. They also solicited donations
from local businesses and held a silent auction at the carnival.
By tapping into all available
resources, even moderate-income families have been able to make adoption a
reality. "Most people who adopt don't have $40,000 sitting in their bank
account," Witt says. "Most people I work with are typically
middle-income families, and they find ways to make it happen."
Looking into adoption but need assistance with financing or
any other aspect? We’re here to help! Feel free to reach out to us here at the
Orphan Care Initiative at 949-609-8555 or email orphans@saddleback.com.
Another great resource is our monthly information seminar
“Thinking About Adoption or Foster Care.” Come get your questions answered by
families in our church who have already walked this road. The next Thinking
About Adoption or Foster Care will be Wednesday night, February 4th,
from 6:30 to 8:30pm in the MO2 gathering room of the Lake Forest Saddleback
campus.