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S 479 101th Congress Senate

Fairness for Adopting Families Act

Official title: A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code to allow for deduction of qualified adoption expenses and for other purposes.

Introduced: April 4, 1989 See on congress.gov
Taxation AdoptionCostsEmployee benefit plansIncome tax
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Tax deductionsTax exclusion
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This bill died when the 101st Congress ended
It never became law before the 101st Congress (1989–1990) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Mar 1, 1989
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Mar 1, 1989
Introduced in Senate
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 Latest action March 1, 1989

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Fairness for Adopting Families Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit an individual income tax deduction for qualified adoption expenses. Includes as deductible all reasonable and necessary expenses that do not violate a Federal or State law and that are directly related to a legal adoption of any child if the adoption has been arranged by a State, local, or other nonprofit agency, or through a private placement.

Excludes from an employee's gross income any amounts paid on behalf of the employee by an employer pursuant to a qualified adoption assistance program.

Limits both the deduction and the exclusion to $5,000. Reduces the amount when the taxpayer's income exceeds $60,000.

Permits an employer to treat an adoption assistance program as a statutory employee benefit plan, thus making the employer's contributions to such a program tax deductible as business expenses.

 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
 Cosponsors 2
All 2 Republican 2
R
Grassley, Chuck
Iowa · Apr 4, 1989
 R
McConnell, Mitch
Kentucky · Apr 4, 1989
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). S. 479: Fairness for Adopting Families Act. 101st Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/101-S-479/
MLA
"S. 479: Fairness for Adopting Families Act." 101st Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/101-S-479/.
Bluebook (legal)
S. 479, 101st Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/101-S-479/.
Markdown link
[S. 479: Fairness for Adopting Families Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/101-S-479/)
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