Adoption Tax Credit

Last week, I shared with y’all the beautiful “why” of our adoptions.

Now, I want to show you how five minutes of your time could help thousands of children live a similar love story.

As you may have heard, the Justin-Bieber-popular federal adoption tax credit is scheduled to be drastically cut at the end of this year. Like to $0 for most adoptive families.

Without this credit, many families will not be able to afford the high cost of adopting a child.

Despite your narcoleptic reaction every time you hear the word “legislation,” this is important. Stay awake through the whole thing and I’ll send you a cookie.

Legislation is currently pending before Congress that would reinstate the adoption tax credit and make it permanent (that’s a big deal, y’all). In order to help move this legislation forward, I am encouraging everyone I know (and everyone I don’t know) to contact their reps in the House and Senate about the need for this legislation.

Although you may not have contacted an elected representative in the past (I hadn’t), in the world of the Internet, it’s super simple. Can you read this blog post? Then you can e-mail a Senator.

Really.

You can easily send an e-mail to all of your elected officials in 5 minutes or less. Here’s how:

1. Click here to go to Contacting The Congress website
2. Enter your zip code to identify your elected representatives in the House and Senate
3. Click on the “Contact Form” link
4. Complete the top part of the web form with your name, address, etc.
5. Within the “Topic” drop-down box, click on the “Tax” or “Legislative” option (they all seem to be a little different, so pick the closest one)
6. Copy and paste the statement below into the “Message” section of the web form
7. If you’d like, customize the message to further explain why you personally support adoption (this is optional)
8. Click “Send”

Repeat steps 3-8 for each of your elected representatives.

Then forward this post to any family or friends who believe that bringing orphaned children into a loving home should be encouraged. You can even use the handy-dandy email button below (if you’re reading on the web, it’s the last one. with the little @ sign on it. it’s not there because I think it’s cute. use it.).

Thank you for taking a few minutes to help support kids and families.

Now let me know where to send your cookie.

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As a constituent and a supporter of childhood adoption, I’m writing to urge your support for the adoption tax credit, which is set to expire on December 31, 2012.

Since 1997, the adoption tax credit has helped tens of thousands of parents offset the high cost of adoption, making it possible for them to provide children with loving, permanent families of their own.

If Congress doesn’t take action to extend or make permanent the adoption tax credit, parents adopting children with special needs will see their maximum allowable tax credit reduced to $6,000, and all other adoptive parents will be ineligible for any tax credit at all. Without the adoption tax credit, many parents who are otherwise willing to adopt will be unable to do so without great financial hardship, and others will not be able to adopt at all.

The adoption tax credit will need to be extended in order to help as many children as possible realize the love and permanency they both need and deserve. Bills have been introduced this year in both the House (HR 4373) and Senate (S. 3616) that will accomplish this if they’re enacted into law.

Accordingly, I urge you to support and enact this legislation before the tax credit expires at the end of this year. On behalf of the countless children waiting to be adopted and the many thousands of Indiana families that stand to benefit from the adoption tax credit, thank you for your work on this important issue.

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For more information about the adoption tax credit, click here.