s/o - Adoption Tax Credit

ctbride08

I read about many of you having your refund $ questioned and held up for a long time last year which made me wonder, is there any benefit to filing w/o the adoption tax credit, getting that refund, then filing an amended return for the ATC?  Or do they just hold the ATC refund portion and send you the rest?

 

Dr.Loretta

We didn't have any issues. We finalized in 2010 and filed in 2011, and never had any issues. I wouldn't want to mess with amending a return. We had to do that already and it was a PITA

MagickalNarwhal

I've done something similar in the past when I was filing tax returns that included the first time homebuyers credit, which was also similarly held up. Technically, you are NOT supposed to, as when  you sign, you are declaring that the tax return accurately reflects your tax situation accurately for the period of time that is covered by the tax return.

The other issue is that filing an amended return will add even more time to the time it takes to get a refund typically. So if you *would* have been in the small percentage of people who got the credit without being delayed, filing that as an amended return for the ATC portion guarantees that it will take a while. I think typical processing time for amended returns is 8 - 12 weeks (don't quote me though).

And finally, amending the federal return to show a bigger refund with the ATC can have an effect on your state return. For instance, in Oregon it will typically mean you owe money (or you get a smaller refund), and if you file that amendment after the due date, it can mean penalties and interest for that balance due amount if you don't send that payment in before 4/15.

All that said, realistically, it can be done, I guess - I never saw any negative repercussions when dealing with the homebuyer credit returns that I filed like that. I'd definitely talk to your tax preparer or accountant.

Duchess1

They only withheld the ATC portion and sent the rest as usual. They did it the same way both years :-)

moosegal

This year we received the regular refund portion as soon as it was processed and had to wait on the ATC portion. A different office examines and processes the ATC and they don't share documentation between offices. So we had to resubmit all of our adoption-related expenses (copies of canceled checks, invoices, etc.). Once we resubmitted everything, it was another month or so before we got the ATC refund portion.

ctbride08

excellent, thanks so much!!