Can I amend my 2018 return to claim initial Adoption expenses in 2017, long before a child entered the picture?

[frienetic]

We began the adoption process in 2017 when we applied for assistance with an agency and paid a lot of money upfront.  It looks like I could have already started taking the adoption credit long before we were ever placed with a child through this agency?  So can I go back and amend my 2018 return to include these 2017 expenses?  Would I just put the child's name as unknown as we would not have known any child at that time?

Thanks.

[JohnW152 · Accepted solution]

Yes, you can.

For a domestic adoption, if you pay qualifying expenses in any year before the year that the adoption is finalized, you can claim the credit in the year after the year of the payment.

See When To Take the Credit or Exclusion in the Instructions for Form 8839 for more information.

As far as the name to enter, if you actually did adopt a child, go ahead and enter his or her name and identifying number, even though you wouldn't have known this information at the time.

On Form 1040-X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, you'll have the opportunity to explain that the adoption wasn't finalized that year, but you incurred these expenses in 2017.

If there is any carryover credit, or you also claimed the credit in a later year, you may need to amend subsequent year returns, as well.