I posted in the lurker post below. Here is my big confession: I think I broke the IRS. DH and I are in the adoption process, and I am a licensed CPA. I do a lot of research on our taxes and do our own. I claimed refunds for our adoption expenses the last two years due to loophole in law that if not finalized, claim in the year following payment.
We got audited both years. However, I knew what to do to prove we qualified. The first year, I was told refundable credits are more likely to be audited and I was fine with that. This yer, we got an examiner in Atlanta that did not know the adoption tax law. She cut actually sent us the wrong audit notice. I kept all records and called at regular intervals. One of the call centers got so upseton my behalf that they opened a case on my behalf with the taxpayer advocate. We did not get our refund until 5 months after it was due to us with 3% compounded daily interest.
The adoption tax credit is now no longer refundable.