2015 Instructions For Form 8839 (Page 3 of 8) in pdf

ar14.html, and Rev. Proc. 2010-31, 2010-40 I.R.B. 413,

Domestic Adoption

available at

IF you pay

If your employer makes adoption assistance payments in a

qualifying expenses in...

THEN take the credit in...

year before the adoption of a foreign child is final, you must

include the payments in your income in the year of the payment.

Any year before the year the

The year after the year

Then, on your return for the year the adoption becomes final, you

adoption becomes final*

of the payment.

can make an adjustment to take the exclusion.

The year the adoption becomes final The year the adoption

Your employer isn't required to withhold income tax on

becomes final.

payments for qualifying expenses under an adoption

Any year after the year the adoption

The year of the payment.

assistance program. If you must include the payments

CAUTION

becomes final

in income in the year paid because your adoption of a foreign

child isn't final, your withholding may not be enough to cover the

IF your employer pays for

THEN take the

tax on those payments. You may need to give your employer a

qualifying expenses under an

exclusion in....

new Form W-4 to adjust your withholding or make estimated tax

adoption assistance program

payments to avoid a penalty for underpayment of estimated tax.

in...

Any year

The year of the payment.

Specific Instructions

*In the case of a U.S. child, an adoption credit may be allowable for an

attempted or unsuccessful adoption, as well as for an adoption that isn't

Part I—Information About Your

final. See the instructions for

Line 1

and

Line 5

for additional information.

Eligible Child or Children

Line 1

Child with special needs. If you adopt a U.S. child with special

needs, you may be able to exclude up to $13,400 and claim a

Complete all columns that apply to the eligible child you adopted

credit for additional expenses up to $13,400 (minus any qualified

or tried to adopt.

adoption expenses claimed for the same child in a prior year).

If you can't give complete information about an eligible child

The exclusion may be available, even if you or your employer

you tried to adopt in 2014 because the adoption was either

didn't pay any qualified adoption expenses, provided the

unsuccessful or wasn't final by the end of 2015, complete the

employer has a written qualified adoption assistance program.

entries that you can on line 1. Leave blank any entries you are

See

Column

(d), for more information.

unable to complete. For example, if you don't have an SSN or

Foreign child. If the eligible child is a foreign child, you can't

ATIN for your eligible child, leave column (f) blank.

take the adoption credit or exclusion unless the adoption

For examples of the type of records you may want to

becomes final. A child is a foreign child if he or she wasn't a

keep to substantiate your claim for the adoption credit,

citizen or resident of the United States (including U.S.

TIP

see Notice 2010-66, 2010-42 I.R.B. 437, available at

possessions) at the time the adoption effort began. Take the

credit or exclusion as shown in the following table.

Attempted Adoptions of U.S. Children

Foreign Adoption

In general, the dollar limitation requires you to combine the

IF you pay

qualified adoption expenses you paid if you made more than one

qualifying expenses in...

THEN take the credit in...

attempt to adopt one eligible U.S. child. When you combine the

amounts you spent, complete only the “Child 1” line. Don't report

Any year before the year the

The year the adoption

the additional attempt(s) on the “Child 2” or “Child 3” line.

adoption becomes final

becomes final.

Complete the “Child 2” or “Child 3” lines only if you adopted or

The year the adoption becomes final The year the adoption

tried to adopt two or three eligible children.

becomes final.

Example 1. You planned to adopt one U.S. child. You paid

$10,000 of qualified adoption expenses in an unsuccessful

Any year after the year the adoption

The year of the payment.

attempt to adopt a child. You later paid $8,000 of additional

becomes final

qualified adoption expenses in a successful adoption of a

IF your employer pays for

different child. Complete only the “Child 1” line because you

qualifying expenses under an

made more than one attempt to adopt one eligible child.

adoption assistance program

THEN take the

Example 2. The facts are the same as in Example 1 except

in...

exclusion in....

that both attempts are unsuccessful and no adoption is ever

Any year before the year the

The year the adoption

finalized. Enter $18,000 ($10,000 + $8,000) on the “Child 1” line

adoption becomes final

becomes final.

because you made more than one attempt to adopt one eligible

child.

The year the adoption becomes final The year the adoption

becomes final.

Example 3. You planned to adopt one U.S. child. You paid

$9,000 in qualified adoption expenses in an unsuccessful

Any year after the year the adoption

The year of the payment.

attempt to adopt a child. You later successfully adopted twins,

becomes final

after paying an additional $24,000 in qualified adoption

expenses ($12,000 per child). Enter $21,000 ($9,000 + $12,000)

on the “Child 1” line because you made more than one attempt

For more information, see

Column

(e). To find out when a

to adopt one eligible child. Enter $12,000 on the “Child 2” line

foreign adoption is treated as final, see Rev. Proc. 2005-31,

because you made a successful attempt to adopt a second

2005-26 I.R.B. 1374, available at

eligible child.

-3-

Form 8839 (2015)

2015 Instructions For Form 8839 Page 3

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