WASHINGTON (BP)–Legislation to renew and expand the tax credit for adoption has been introduced in Congress with strong support.
The Hope for Children Act, H.R. 622, would double the adoption tax credit to $10,000. It also would index the credit for inflation and double to $10,000 the amount of adoption assistance by an employer that may be excluded from an employee’s taxable income. The $5,000 credit for the adoption of non-special needs children and the credit for employer-provided adoption benefits are scheduled to expire this year.
For special-needs children, the bill would increase the adoption credit from $6,000 to a flat $10,000 that covers one-time and ongoing costs. The special-needs credit is permanent and therefore does not need to be renewed.
The bill has 213 cosponsors.
“We hope this bill will help unite children with parents and build strong, stable families in our country,” said Rep. Jim DeMint, R.-S.C., the bill’s chief sponsor, in a written statement.
The lead House Democratic sponsor is Rep. Jim Oberstar of Minnesota.
Sens. Larry Craig, R.-Idaho, and Mary Landrieu, D.-La., are the lead sponsors of similar legislation, S. 148, in the other house.
DeMint was coauthor with now-retired Rep. Tom Bliley, R.-Va., of the Infant Adoption Awareness Act, which was enacted in October. That measure provided training for pregnancy counselors so they can give complete information on adoption. It also called for studies of the practices of pregnancy counselors before and after training in adoption counseling.
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