Children's Handbook Scotland 2020/21Chapter 9: Adoption2. Benefits and tax credits when a child is placed with you for adoption Tax credits
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Tax credits
Most people are not able to make a new claim for tax credits, but have to claim UC instead. See here for more details. The information in this section applies to you if you are already getting tax credits or you are in the group who is still able to claim tax credits.
Any adoption allowance you receive is disregarded for tax credits.1Reg 19 Table 6 para 11(a) TC(DCI) Regs £100 a week of SAP/SPP/SSAP is disregarded for tax credits.2Reg 4(1)(h) TC(DCI) Regs
For information on what happens to tax credits once you have an adoption order for the child, see here.
 
1     Reg 19 Table 6 para 11(a) TC(DCI) Regs »
2     Reg 4(1)(h) TC(DCI) Regs »
Child tax credit
If you are able to claim tax credits or are already getting CTC (eg, for another child) and providing you satisfy the normal conditions of entitlement, you can get CTC for the child you are going to adopt as soon as the child comes to live with you, unless the local authority is making payments to you under regulation 33 of the Looked After Children (Scotland) Regulations 2009.1Reg 3(1) r4 Case B CTC Regs. This could be a fostering allowance, for example. Note: adoption allowances are not paid under this regulation.2Paid under s71 AC(S)A 2007 The ‘two-child limit’ (see here) does not apply if a child is placed with you for adoption (agency adoption). This means that even if you already have two or more dependent children and a child is placed with you for adoption, you can get the child element in your CTC for the child who has come to live with you, providing you satisfy the normal conditions of entitlement.3Reg 11 CTC Regs If you subsequently give birth to a child, the child placed for adoption is ‘disregarded’ when applying the two-child limit.4Reg 9 CTC Regs
 
1     Reg 3(1) r4 Case B CTC Regs. This could be a fostering allowance, for example.  »
2     Paid under s71 AC(S)A 2007 »
3     Reg 11 CTC Regs »
4     Reg 9 CTC Regs »
Working tax credit
In order to get working tax credit (WTC), you have to be in ‘full-time paid work’ (see here).
Note: if you cannot get CTC for a child (see here), s/he does not count as a dependent child for WTC.
You are treated as being in full-time paid work during any period when you are being paid SAP, SPP or SSPP and during any period when you are absent from work during adoption or paternity leave or during statutory shared parental leave during which you could have received SSPP, provided you were in qualifying remunerative work before you went on adoption/paternity/shared parental leave,1Reg 5 WTC(EMR) Regs or would have counted as being in full-time paid work if you had been responsible for a child.2Reg 5A WTC (EMR) Regs
Note: because of the introduction of UC, you cannot usually make a new claim for tax credits but currently you can continue to get them, and renew your claim at the end of tax year, if you are already entitled.
 
1     Reg 5 WTC(EMR) Regs »
2     Reg 5A WTC (EMR) Regs »