Should my son (who we are adopting) qualify for the adoption tax credit? He has an ATIN but not an SSN yet because the adoption is not yet final.

[clyde1]

TurboTax calculates the $500 "Other Dependent Tax Credit" for him instead of the $2000 "Child Tax Credit" but I don't understand why as it seems he should qualify for the child tax credit based on the Turbo tax web site topic on this.

[DanielV01 · Accepted solution]

You have two separate questions.  The first question is whether he will qualify for the Adoption Credit.  Yes he will, but only after the adoption is final.  Since he is coming from another country, you will be able to claim actual expenses incurred related to his adoption up to the maximum credit ($13,810 in 2018 but likely a bit more next year).  This FAQ provides more detail (open the FAQ and click on the embedded link Who Qualifies for the Credit) https://ttlc.intuit.com/replies/3302188

Your second question related to the Child Tax Credit vs. the Other Dependent Credit. One of the qualifying factors for the $2000 Child Tax Credit is that the qualifying child must have a Social Security Number.  Currently your soon-to-be adopted son does not have a Social.  Because of this, you cannot claim the Child Tax Credit right now.  However, if you believe that he will have a Social before October 15, you may wish to file an extension in order to be able to get the full credit by submitting the return with his Social Security Number.