Smart Financing for Your Adoption

Introducing Lifetime Family Options! We understand that the adoption can be stressful, so we have created three payment options to help make the financial aspect more manageable! Please click the plans below to find out more information.

Lifetime now offers our contracting families the ability to have loved ones give donations toward their adoption. What better way to get friends, family and community involved with your adoption journey! Click www.lifetimeadoption.com/donate.html for more information.

• America's Christian Credit Union - www.americaschristiancu.com
• Lifesong for Orphans - offers interest-free loans. Visit their website at www.LifesongforOrphans.org for more information.
• ABBA Fund - Requires references that should include your Pastor, an employer/co-worker and friend. Visit their website at www.AbbaFund.org to apply.
• National Adoption Foundation - You do not need be working with a certain adoption agency or be of a specific religious sect. To access their loan application, you must make an online donation: www.NAFAdopt.org.

There are a number of organizations offering grants to qualified adoptive families to help defray some of the costs of adoption. Please visit the specific websites listed to receive more information about these organizations and what they can do for you.

Gift of Adoption Fund
God's Grace Adoption Ministry
National Adoption Foundation
African American Enrichment Program

A Lifetime Adoption Foundation offers educational assistance in the form of scholarships to women who have lovingly placed a child through adoption and, for those children who might otherwise linger in foster care or become institutionalized, partial funding to adoptive parents dedicated to adopting those children with special needs or who might be hard to place.

A Lifetime Foundation does this by providing financial adoption grants to help defray the costs of adoptions of special needs children, sibling groups, older children, and/or medically fragile children. We also have a large African American Enrichment Grant program - helping African American babies and children find permanent homes with loving adoptive families.

A Lifetime Adoption Foundation is dedicated to adoption education, support, adoption resources, and financial assistance to those in need. All gifts of financial assistance are welcome. Gifts designated for a specific program or need are used for the benefit of the program indicated. All gifts and donations are tax-deductible.

Click here to visit A Lifetime Adoption Foundation

With the $12,650 Tax Credit available to families who have completed their adoptions, the cost of adoption can be very affordable. Additionally, the IRS provides a $1,000 Tax Credit per qualifying child you have per year. The tax credit phases out for taxpayers with high modified adjusted gross incomes. Although the tax credit is set to expire, proposals to make that benefit permanent have received much legislative support. Find out how you can petition your legislature to keep this tax credit.

Qualifying expenses include necessary adoption fees, court costs, attorney fees, traveling expenses, and other expenses directly related to the adoption. Adoptive parents who plan to claim the credit should file Form 8839, titled Qualified Adoption Expenses, and attach it to Form 1040.

For more information and other downloads to required forms, please visit this link on the IRS website.

There is also a tax deduction for each qualifying child of $3,200. (Please check with the IRS for updated information.)

Approximately one-quarter of employers are now offering a range of benefits for their employees who choose adoption. Not only are employees eligible for some sort of paid leave, but many are finding that their employers are offering reimbursement to help defray some of the adoption expenses themselves.

Your employer may also offer an Employee Assistance Program, or an EAP. This is designed to help workers deal with dramatic situations in their personal lives. You may find that speaking with an EAP counselor can aid the ups and downs of an adoption experience.

Check into your employee adoption benefit. More small and medium-size companies are offering some type of adoption credit for their employees. For example, Verizon has a $10,000 adoption benefit, and Pepsi has a generous adoption benefit as well. Small companies have found tax benefits to offering these adoption incentives to their benefit package - ask your Human Resource Dept for details.

You can also find out more by contacting the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption's Adoption-Friendly Workplace program. They work to make adoption an affordable option for every working parent. You may contact the AdoptionFriendlyWorkplace.org at 1-877-777-4222 for details on how to request that your employer establish a program or visit their website at AdoptionFriendlyWorkplace.org.

The military has resources for adoptive families not available elsewhere. Active Military Families are eligible for a one-time adoption assistance subsidy program of up to $2,000 per child or $5,000 for sibling groups. These reimbursements and benefits are provided to single or married adopting parents, and can be used for domestic or international adoptions. For more information on the program, you may click here:

Military Reimbursement

Federal and state adoption assistance is available to ensure that families who adopt waiting or hard to place children have the crucial services and financial resources to meet their children's continuing needs. Adoption subsidies are available for your child whether your home study was done by a public or a private agency, but will vary by state and region, so research what is available in your area. It is often easier to have your agency assist in the paperwork if you are adopting a waiting child through them. Don't take no for an answer, it can take a lot of work and you will need the help. Click here for help and more information: Child Welfare Information Gateway