HUMAN RESOURCES at MIT

Adoption Assistance Program

New in 2008. Recognizing the broad diversity of MIT employees who are building families, MIT has created an Adoption Assistance Program that provides eligible employees with financial reimbursement for qualified adoption expenses. The program start date is January 1, 2008.

Who is Eligible

All benefits-eligible MIT employees may apply for benefits under the program upon adopting a child under the age of 18.

Employees must be actively employed, or on approved paid or unpaid leave, at the time the expenses are incurred and at the time the adoption is finalized. If two adoptive parents are both MIT employees, only one employee is eligible for reimbursement per adoption.

Note: The child being adopted may not be the child of an employee’s spouse or spousal equivalent.

Benefit

The program provides a benefit of up to $5,000 per finalized adoption for eligible expenses, not to exceed a lifetime benefit of $20,000 per employee.

Note: Special provisions are being made for qualified adoption expenses incurred in 2007 before the program start date of January 1, 2008. Reimbursements for 2007 expenses will not qualify for the tax benefits available for expenses incurred after January 1, 2008. For more details, see the section on Tax Treatment of Reimbursement below.

Eligible Adoption Expenses

Eligible expenses include reasonable and necessary expenses for the legal adoption of an eligible child, consistent with federal income tax guidelines. Such expenses include:

  • Agency and placement fees
  • Travel expenses associated with the adoption (including transportation, lodging, and meals)
  • Medical expenses for the child not otherwise covered by insurance
  • Temporary foster care provided before placement of the child in the employee’s home
  • Immigration, immunization, and translation fees
  • Court costs and legal fees

Ineligible expenses include those that are:

  • Prior to the date of employment
  • For carrying out any surrogate parenting arrangements
  • For establishing legal guardianship
  • Paid using funds received under another federal, state, or local program, or from another employer or other party
  • Allowed as a credit or deduction under any other federal income tax rule

How to Apply

Applicants must complete an application form and submit it with documents substantiating the finalization of the adoption, the qualified expenses, and the dates on which the expenses were incurred.

Forms are also available by contacting the Benefits Office.

Deadlines: Applications for reimbursement must be received no more than 90 days after the adoption is finalized, with the exception of those applications for adoptions finalized in 2007, which must be submitted by April 1, 2008. 

Reimbursements will be processed by the Benefits Operations and Services Team and paid through the Payroll Department in the employee’s paycheck.

For Further Information

For further information on the Adoption Assistance Program, contact the Benefits Office. 

For more information on adoption resources at MIT, or for a confidential consultation on adoption or issues related to adoption, please contact the Center for Work, Family & Personal Life at (617) 253-1592, or e-mail worklife@mit.edu.

For information about MIT’s peer-led discussion group, including a schedule of upcoming monthly meetings, or to sign up for the group’s e-mail listserv, contact Adoptive Families at MIT.

Tax Treatment of Reimbursement

The Adoption Assistance Program provides reimbursement of qualified expenses incurred on or after January 1, 2008, for finalized adoptions.  The program has been designed to take advantage of certain federal income tax provisions regarding such reimbursements.

For these expenses, certain tax benefits may be available, depending upon the employee's modified adjusted gross income (MAGI). When modified adjusted gross income reaches a certain level, those tax benefits are completely phased out.

Reimbursements under the program will be reported in Box 12 of the employee’s W-2 form. Certain taxes, including FICA and FUTA, will be withheld, consistent with federal and state regulations; however, federal and state income tax will not be withheld.

Special Rule for 2007
MIT has made special provisions for 2007 as a transitional year prior to the formal launch of the Adoption Assistance Program on January 1, 2008. 

For qualified 2007 adoption expenses, which would otherwise be covered under the program if incurred in 2008, MIT will reimburse eligible employees, subject to all the other requirements and limitations of the program, including the reimbursement procedures. 

The $5,000 limit per finalized adoption and $20,000 lifetime maximum benefit per employee apply to qualified adoption expenses incurred in 2007. An adoption expenses is "incurred" when the services relating to that expense are provided.

Due to federal tax regulations, any tax benefits available for reimbursements under the Adoption Assistance Program will not be available for reimbursements of 2007 expenses. Federal and state income tax will be withheld, and reimbursements will be reported in Box 1 of the employee’s W-2 form.  This is because reimbursement for expenses incurred in 2007 would be made by MIT outside the program.

In all cases, individual employees are responsible for accurately reporting reimbursements under the program to the IRS and state and local taxing authorities.

Note: The information on this website is not intended as tax or legal advice. For further information on federal income tax provisions for adoption expenses, visit www.irs.gov/ or call 1-800-TAX FORM (1-800-829-3676).

The above information is a general description of the Adoption Assistance Program (the "Program").The terms and conditions reflected in the official Plan Documents of the Program will govern all matters relating to the Program, including eligibility and reimbursement claims. MIT reserves the right to modify or terminate the Program at any time.
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