8839 Qualified Adoption Expenses

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TREASURY/IRS AND OMB USE ONLY DRAFT
Form

8839

Qualified Adoption Expenses

Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service

OMB No. 1545-0074

2025

Attach to Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR.
Go to www.irs.gov/Form8839 for instructions and the latest information.

Attachment
Sequence No. 38
Your social security number

Name(s) shown on return

Part I

Information About Your Eligible Child or Children—You must complete this part.
See instructions for details, including what to do if you need more space.
Check if child was—

1

(a)
Child’s name
First

(b)
Child’s year
of birth
Last

(c)
(d)
born before
a child
2008 and with special
disabled
needs

(g)
Check if
adoption
became final in
2025 or earlier

(f)
Child’s
identifying number

(e)
a foreign
child

Child
1

Child
3

Caution: If the child was a foreign child, see Special rules in the instructions for line 1, column (e), before you complete Part II or
Part III. If you received employer-provided adoption benefits, complete Part III on the back next.

Part II

Adoption Credit
Child 1

Child 2

Child 3

2

Maximum adoption credit per child. Enter $17,280.
See instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3
Did you file Form 8839 for a prior year for the same
No. Enter -0-.
child?
Yes. See instructions for the amount to
enter . . . . . . . . . . .
4
Subtract line 3 from line 2 . . . . . . . . .
5
Qualified adoption expenses. See instructions . .
Caution: Your qualified adoption expenses may not
be equal to the adoption expenses you paid in 2025.
6
Enter the smaller of line 4 or line 5 . . . . . . .
7
Enter modified adjusted gross income. See instructions
8
Is line 7 more than $259,190?
No. Skip lines 8 and 9, and enter -0- on line 10.
Yes. Subtract $259,190 from line 7 . . . . .
9
Divide line 8 by $40,000. Enter the result as a decimal
more than 1.000 . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10
Multiply each amount on line 6 by line 9 . . . . .
11a Subtract line 10 from line 6 . . . . . . . . .
b Enter the smaller of the amount on line 11a or $5,000
c Add the amounts on line 11b . . . . . . . .
12
Add the amounts on line 11a . . . . . . . .
13

14
15
16
17
18

2

3
4
5

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6
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(rounded to
. . . .
10
11a
11b
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7

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. . . . .
8
at least three places). Do not enter
. . . . . . . . . . . .

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11c
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Refundable adoption credit. Enter the amount from line 11(c) here and on Form 1040, 1040-SR, or
1040-NR, line 30. If you are claiming an adoption credit for more than three children, see instructions.
Continue to line 14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Subtract line 13 from line 12. If zero or less, enter -0- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Credit carryforward, if any, from prior years. See your Adoption Credit Carryforward Worksheet in the
2024 Form 8839 instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Add lines 14 and 15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Enter the amount from line 5 of the Credit Limit Worksheet in the instructions . . . . . . . .
Nonrefundable adoption credit. Enter the smaller of line 16 or line 17 here and on Schedule 3 (Form
1040), line 6c. If line 17 is smaller than line 16, you may have a credit carryforward. See instructions .

For Paperwork Reduction Act Notice, see your tax return instructions.

Cat. No. 22843L

9

×

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12

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Form 8839 (2025) Created 9/2/25

DRAFT — DO NOT FILE

DRAFT — DO NOT FILE

Child
2

TREASURY/IRS AND OMB USE ONLY DRAFT
Page 2

Form 8839 (2025)

Part III

Employer-Provided Adoption Benefits
Child 1

19
20

21
22

23

25
26

27
28
29
30
31

Child 2

Child 3

19

20
21

22
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Enter the smaller of line 21 or line 22. But if the child
was a child with special needs and the adoption
became final in 2025, enter the amount from line 21 .
24
Enter modified adjusted gross income (from the worksheet in
the instructions) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
25
Is line 25 more than $259,190?
No. Skip lines 26 and 27, and enter -0- on line 28.
Yes. Subtract $259,190 from line 25 . . . . . . .
26
Divide line 26 by $40,000. Enter the result as a decimal (rounded to at least three
places). Do not enter more than 1.000. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Multiply each amount on line 24 by line 27 . . . .
28
Excluded benefits. Subtract line 28 from line 24 . .
29
Add the amounts on line 29 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Taxable benefits. Is line 30 more than line 23?
No. Subtract line 30 from line 23. Also, include this amount, if more than
zero, on line 1f of Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR.
.
Yes. Subtract line 23 from line 30. Enter the result as a negative number.
Also, enter the result on line 1f of Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR.

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23

DRAFT — DO NOT FILE

DRAFT — DO NOT FILE

24

Maximum exclusion per child. Enter $17,280.
See instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Did you receive employer-provided adoption benefits
for a prior year for the same child?
No. Enter -0-.
Yes. See instructions for the amount to enter . .
Subtract line 20 from line 19 . . . . . . . . .
Employer-provided adoption benefits you received in
2025. This amount should be shown in box 12 of your
2025 Form(s) W-2 with code T . . . . . . . .
Add the amounts on line 22 . . . . . . . . . .

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30

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31

You may be able to claim the adoption credit in Part II on the front of this form if any of the following apply.

TIP

• You paid adoption expenses in 2024, those expenses were not fully reimbursed by your employer or otherwise, and
the adoption was not final by the end of 2024.
• The total adoption expenses you paid in 2025 were not fully reimbursed by your employer or otherwise, and the
adoption became final in 2025 or earlier.
• You adopted a child with special needs and the adoption became final in 2025.
Form 8839 (2025)