House Committee Votes To Authorize Tax Deduction For Adoption, Expand Tax Credit

The House Committee on Children and Families unanimously passed House Bill 429 and 430 on Wednesday, which aims to make adopting or fostering children in Missouri easier.

HB 429 would authorize an income tax deduction for foster care expenses.

HB 430 would expand the state’s existing $10,000 tax credit for the adoption of children with special needs.

Rep. Hannah Kelly (R-Mountain Grove) sponsored both bills.

The proposed tax deduction would begin Jan. 1, 2022 and allow a deduction for expenses incurred in providing care as a foster parent to one or more children in Missouri.

Parents who foster children for at least six months would be eligible for a deduction of up to $2,500 or $5,000 for a couple filing jointly.

Those who foster fewer than six months could apply for a prorated deduction. 

In a press release, Kelly said it is important to extend help to those who foster for a short period of time.

“Sometimes children need a safe place for just a few weeks while mom and dad get a house cleaned, or while they take certain trainings, or perhaps they simply need a temporary place to stay while they find a permanent placement, and so this also allows to be supportive to the foster parents who provide that respite care, that temporary place,” Kelly said.

Kelly testified during the hearing that she adopted her daughter last year at the age of 18.

“If she would stayed in the system she would have stayed in until she was 21,” Kelly said. “From a financial standpoint, based on my tabulations, the state would’ve spent $21,000 just as a base amount, before she aged out of the system.”

HB 430 would make anyone adopting a special needs child eligible for a tax credit up to $10,000 for non-recurring adoption expenses for each child.

The tax credit would only be allocated for the adopt of special needs children who are residents or wards of residents of the state at the time the adoption is initiated.

House Speaker Rob Vescovo (R-Arnold) said the bills will go before another committee and could be heard by the full House next week.

Vescovo was adopted out of foster care and called on House members to join him in expanding the adoption tax credit.

“Together we can make adoption a possibility for many families who may not have the money but have the love and support to give a wonderful life to a person in need,” Vescovo said.

There are more than 13,000 children in Missouri’s foster care system.

“We must take every step possible to give each and every one of these kids an open door of opportunity so they can grow into healthy, productive adults,” Vescovo said.

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