You can enter Unknown in the first and last name spaces in TurboTax in order to claim the Adoption Credit. You can leave the SSN field blank. This is for domestic adoptions only.
- Domestic adoptions: Claim expenses each year as you incur or pay them as long as the adoption is finalized. Claim expense the year after you incur or pay them if the adoption is still in progress and not final. If the child is a U.S. citizen or resident, you may claim the credit even if the adoption is unsuccessful.
- Foreign adoptions: Claim expenses once the adoption is final. When it’s final, you can claim all eligible expenses you paid, including in past years.
- Adoption of children deemed by a state or Indian tribal government welfare agency as special needs or hard to place: Claim expenses when the adoption is final.
If the eligible child is a foreign child, you can’t take the adoption credit or exclusion unless the adoption becomes final. A child is a foreign child if they weren’t a citizen or resident of the United States (including U.S. territories) at the time the adoption effort began. Take the credit or exclusion as shown in the following table.
Find examples of these timing rules to claim the credit in the Instructions for Form 8839, Qualified Adoption Expenses.
See this TurboTax tips article for more information.
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