Adoption Tax Law

You may remember that back in January I blogged about reading an article that stated we should act on a prompting from God, even if we don't know how it will work out. We did that and I thought that when my family helped us with Jalen's adoption, that was the result of that prompting. Well, it turns out that it was only part of the result.

With the passing of the health bill, there has also been a change to adoption tax law. The adoption tax credit has now been increased by $1,000 and it has been made refundable. This means that you don't have to "earn" the credit with the taxes you have paid, but you can actually get back the full amount all in one lump sum. (Keep in mind, this only covers about half the cost of a private adoption. I think the credit is $13,000 now. Baylie's adoption cost $23,546 and to date Jalen's is $23,516 - with some more to come related to nursery and legal charges.)

This means that with next year's tax return, we will be able to pay off the money we owe for Jalen's adoption. His adoption will be paid off before Baylie's! (The change is not retroactive and will not apply to Baylie's adoption. UPDATE: The law is now retroactive!!) For me, this is nothing short of a miracle and yet another confirmation of the promptings we received related to Jalen's adoption. It is a testimony to me of the fact that God knows what is best for us. He can see things in the future of which we are not aware and we just need to learn to trust him and act on the promptings he sends us. This has been such an amazing and faith-promoting experience for me.

On the flip side, I have to acknowledge my hypocrasy. I have been very frustrated with all the special interests that get stuck into legislation and with things that get buried in bigger bills. However, in this case since it benefits me, I think it's great!