Q & A with Laurie
Hello everyone, my name is Laurie Walker, and I am an Adoptive Family Specialist with American Adoptions. I have worked with many birth mothers and adoptive families in my time here at American Adoptions and love being able to watch families form through adoption.
Q. We finalized our adoption this year, but we do not yet have a social security number for our baby. When do we get this? And can we take the credits on our taxes this year for our child and our adoption?
A. When you finalize your adoption, your attorney will receive a final adoption decree from the court. The attorney will then take that final adoption decree and send a request to the Vital Statistics Department in the baby’s birth state for a new birth certificate to be issued. Some states are faster than others, but it will typically take 1-3 months for the birth certificate to arrive. After you receive the new amended birth certificate showing you are the child’s legal parents, you’ll want to physically take that to your local social security office to request a new social security number and card for your child.
However, you do not need to wait for these two items to file your taxes with the child and adoption tax credits. If your adoption is finalized by the end of this year, and you do not yet have an amended birth certificate and social security number for your child, you can go to the IRS website (http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Adoption-Taxpayer-Identification-Number) and apply for a temporary tax ID number called an Adoption Taxpayer Identification Number (ATIN) using the W-7A form. We recommend sending this form out to the IRS at least one month before you file your taxes to allow for this number to be sent back to you for use. Once you receive the temporary tax ID number, you’ll use that number in place of a social security number to apply for the child and adoption tax credit.
Of course, we recommend that you always consult a tax professional during this process to ensure you are accurately preparing income tax forms. You can also contact the IRS directly with additional questions by calling 1-800-829-1040.
Also, don’t forget that when your amended birth certificate does arrive, you’ll want to take that to your local social security office and apply for a social security card for your child.
