Use Form 8839 to figure the amount of your adoption credit and any employer-provided adoption benefits you can exclude from your income. You can claim both the credit and the exclusion for expenses of adopting an eligible child. But, you cannot claim both for the same expenses.

Use Form 8839, Part II, to figure the amount of adoption credit you can take on Form 1040, line 53, or Form 1040NR, line 48. You may be able to take this credit if any of the following statements are true.

1. You paid qualified adoption expenses in:
   1. 2007 and the adoption was not final at the end of 2007, or
   2. 2008 and the adoption became final in or before 2008.
2. You adopted a child with special needs and the adoption became final in 2008. (In this case, you may be able to take the credit even if you did not pay any qualified adoption expenses.)
3. You paid expenses after 1996 in connection with the adoption of an eligible foreign child and the adoption became final in 2008. See the instructions for line 1, column (e), that begin on page 2.
4. You have a carryforward of an adoption credit from a prior year.

Use Form 8839, Part III, to figure the amount of employer-provided adoption benefits you can exclude from your income on Form 1040, line 7, or Form 1040NR, line 8. You may be able to exclude these benefits from income if your employer had a qualified adoption assistance program (see Employer-Provided Adoption Benefits on this page) and any of the following statements are true.

• You received employer-provided adoption benefits in 2008. However, special rules apply for benefits received in connection with the adoption of an eligible foreign child. See the instructions for line 1, column (e), that begin on page 2.
• You adopted a child with special needs and the adoption became final in 2008.
• You received employer-provided adoption benefits after 1996 in connection with the adoption of an eligible foreign child and the adoption became final in 2008. See the instructions for line 1, column (e), that begin on 
  page 2.

You must complete Form 8839, Part III, before you can figure the credit, if any, in Part II.