The Adoption Tax Credit allows an individual who adopts a child (other than a stepchild) during a tax year to take a credit against taxes for their actual out-of-pocket expenses in adopting that child, up to $13,570 for tax year 2022 (this amount is indexed for inflation and is thus different in prior tax years). Expenses that are paid for or reimbursed by an employer may be alternatively excluded from gross income, up to this same limit. The credit is reduced for taxpayers with high incomes (reduced for those with more than $203,540 MAGI, unavailable entirely for those with more than $243,540). A u201cspecial needsu201d adoption (which does not specifically mean a child with disabilities, but instead has a specific definition in the tax code) automatically qualifies for the maximum allowable credit without having to prove expenses.The adoption tax credit is nonrefundable, which means that the amount of the credit cannot exceed the amount of the taxpayeru2019s tax due. However, in most cases, if the amount claimed exceed tax due in the year of the adoption, the unclaimed portion can be carried forward and claimed on future tax years as well, up to five years, until the total amount claimed is exhausted. (Note that the Adoption Tax Credit was refundable for tax years 2022 and 2022. meaning that the credit could exceed tax due.)Addressing the question asked in the addition details of the question comments: itu2019s not the amount that your employer withheld that determines the maximum credit you can claim, but the amount of your actual tax due, which on Form 1040 is Line 47. You cannot claim, on any tax return, nonrefundable credits that total more than your tax due, because nonrefundable credits simply reduce your tax due and you cannot owe less than zero tax. The amount withheld by your employer (which goes on Line 64) is entirely unrelated and does not in any way control the amount of credit you can claim.Note that Congress has proposed to repeal the Adoption Tax Credit in its 2022 Tax Slash and Burn Bill; thus, this may be the last year in which this credit is available.