Tax info for 2012 Adoptive Parents *Update

Just some info for those of you who adopted in 2012 and who may not have finalized your adoption yet...

I downloaded TurboTax (yes, I have a bit of OCD and like to start my return get my money back ASAP :)) and when I went to claim C as a dependent, I was informed that I needed a social security number for him or a tax ID#. Fortunately, we just got his new birth cert. in the mail and I am going early tomorrow morning our local SSA office to apply for his SSN. As I checked the SSA website, I saw this info for adoptive parents:

We can assign your adopted child a Social Security number before the adoption is complete, but you may want to wait. Then, you can apply for the number using your child’s new name, with your name as parent. If you want to claim your child for tax purposes while the adoption is still pending, you need to contact the Internal Revenue Service for Form W-7A, Application for Taxpayer Identification Number for Pending U.S. Adoptions.

Just in case any of you want to get a head start and get an application for a taxpayer ID# if your adoption was not finalized! And, if you did finalize and are heading to your local office to apply for a SSN, make sure you fill out your application (download here) ahead of time.

*Update:
We went to the SSA office this morning and fortunately were out of there in an hour. I recommend getting to your local office before it opens! There was already a line as I had suspected. We got there about 15 minutes prior. The docs the agent requested - his birth certificate (with his adopted legal name), the finalization order from the courts, my ID, the filled out request for his SSN, and another document bearing his name - she said an immunization report or the like. Fortunately, I had the entire adoption file with me, so I gave her the document when he was fitted for his DocBand, although I had other forms from when he received a physical. It was easy, she didn't ask any questions, just looked at the documents, asked me to verify a printout of the correct info (my name and SSN, and DH's, our address and C's name). We should receive it in 7-14 days.