How Do I File Taxes Without My Child's Social Security Number? - Weekend Wisdom

Question: My husband and I finalized our adoption in December 2025, and we’re still waiting for our son’s birth certificate in the mail. Then we’ll need to take it to file for an SSN and wait for that to arrive. How can we file taxes, including our newborn baby, without a Social Security Number for him? (We didn’t know we could file for a temporary number with the IRS until it was too late - after his finalization hearing).

Resources:

• The 2025 Adoption Tax Credit (podcast)
• The Annual Adoption Tax Credit Guide: 2025 Edition
• IRS.gov: Adoption taxpayer identification number

Transcript

Please pardon any errors, this is an automated transcript.

Hi, and welcome back to Creating a Family's Weekend Wisdom Podcast. I'm Tracy Whitney, the Content Director for Creating a Family, and I am thrilled to bring you today's question from a new adoptive family who are navigating an issue that many parents don't anticipate until tax season arrives. Here's the question from a listener in San Antonio.
My husband and I finalized our adoption in December 2025, and we're still waiting for our son's birth certificate in the mail. Then we'll need to take it to file for a social security number and wait for that to arrive. How can we file our federal taxes, including our newborn baby in the claim, without a social security number for him? We didn't know that we could file for a temporary number with the IRS until it was too late after his finalization hearing.
First of all, congratulations on the adoption of your new little guy. We are excited for you and finalizing a new adoption at the end of the year with all of the holidays and everything going on can be incredibly special. But you are correct to ask for some help. It can also create some tricky timing issues when it comes to taxes.
To guide our answer for you, I reached out to our friend Becky Wilmoth. She's an enrolled agent and adoption tax credit specialist with Bill's Tax Services in Illinois. She's also a regular guest expert for our annual adoption tax credit interview, and you can find that at our website. Here's what she said.
While you can apply for an Adoption Taxpayer Identification Number, or the ATIN, she strongly recommends that you file for a tax extension and wait for your child's Social Security number to arrive. Why? Because the tax benefits are dramatically different. With an ATIN, you can only claim the $500 Other Dependent Credit.
But with a social security number, you can qualify for the child tax credit, which is worth up to $2,200 per child. For most families, that difference alone makes waiting for that social security number the smarter financial choice. Filing an extension gives you until October 15th to submit your return, which is plenty of time for the social security number to arrive so that you can claim the full credit available to your family.
And to reassure you, she says that filing an extension is very common and it does not increase your audit risk and it allows you to file an accurate return. An ATIN is designed for situations like this where the child has been placed in your home but cannot yet or has not yet received their social security number. But if your adoption is already finalized and acquiring that social security number is simply delayed,
Becky's guidance is pretty straightforward. Run the numbers before filing. Waiting a few extra months to get that social security number could mean claiming thousands more in tax credits. And a quick reminder, an extension also gives you more time to file, but not more time to pay any taxes that you owe. If you expect to owe, consider working with a tax professional that will estimate your payments and avoid penalties.
And while we're talking about taxes, I would be remiss if I didn't zoom in on the availability of the adoption tax credit. The biggest financial support available from the federal government to adoptive families is that adoption tax credit.
For the 2025 tax year, the credit is $17,280 per child and is now, for the first time in a very long time, partially refundable up to $5,000. That means even if you don't owe much in taxes, you may still receive some or all of that $5,000 back depending on your situation. That tax credit can help offset
many qualified adoption expenses, including agency fees, legal costs, court costs, travel, etc. However, your eligibility and timing can vary based on when the adoption was finalized and when the expenses were paid. So reviewing your specific circumstances is a very wise step.
Creating a Family offers an excellent adoption tax credit guide that walks you through the details of the adoption tax credit, and it will be linked in our show notes for you. We will also link the annual podcast that I referenced where Becky is an annual guest and other resources that can help you find the most qualified adoption tax specialists that would help you maximize your filing and walk you through some of the nuance of your particular situation.
So listener from Antonio, San Antonio, sorry. If you are still waiting on a social security number after finalization, consider these takeaways. Filing with an A-T-I-N may limit your tax benefit.
Waiting could allow you to claim the larger child tax credit, and the 2025 adoption tax credit is $17,280 with a partial refundability up to $5,000. Filing for that tax extension could give you the breathing room to file accurately and benefit your bank account significantly in the end.
Most importantly, do not panic if the paperwork is moving slowly right now. It's a common situation during tax season, and it's also common for families who finalize late in the year. It's very manageable by working with that extension and having the right strategies and the right support.
There have been reports of delays due to recent shutdowns and staffing changes at the federal level. So as long as you retain documentation of your application for the extension for the social security number or the AITN, you can navigate this process to realize those full benefits.
I want to thank Becky for her insight and expert advice for our listeners today. You can listen to more of Becky's insight at the annual Adoption Tax Credit podcast, which again will be linked in our show notes. And congratulations to this listener in San Antonio for growing your family. We're excited for you and we hope that your first year together comes with lots of adjustments, but joy and excitement as well.
Hopefully your tax return process won't add any stress to this year of big change for your family. Thanks for listening to Creating a Family's Weekend Wisdom. If you have a question that you'd like us to cover or you'd like our experts to answer, we would love to hear from you at info at creatingafamily.org. I look forward to talking to you next week. Thanks for listening.