Financial tip of the day.com - FREEDOM THROUGH FINANCE
Social Sites
  • Financial Tip Of The Day
  • Books
  • Websites
  • Contact Us
  • Disclosure

Top Eight Tax Tips about Deducting Charitable Contributions

26/3/2015

0 Comments

 
Editor: IRS Newsletter
Picture
When you give a gift to charity that helps the lives of others in need. It may also help you at tax time. You may be able to claim the gift as a deduction that may lower your tax. Here are eight tax tips you should know about deducting your gifts to charity:

1. Qualified Charities.  You must donate to a qualified charity if you want to deduct the gift. You can’t deduct gifts to individuals, political organizations or candidates. To check the status of a charity, use the IRS Select Check tool.

2. Itemized Deduction.  To deduct your contributions, you must file Form 1040 and itemize deductions. File Schedule A, Itemized Deductions, with your federal tax return.

3. Benefit in Return.  If you get something in return for your donation, your deduction is limited. You can only deduct the amount of your gift that is more than the value of what you got in return. Examples of benefits include merchandise, meals, tickets to an event or other goods and services.

4. Donated Property.  If you gave property instead of cash, the deduction is usually that item’s fair market value. Fair market value is generally the price you would get if you sold the property on the open market.

5. Clothing and Household Items.  Used clothing and household items must be in at least good condition to be deductible in most cases. Special rules apply to cars, boats and other types of property donations. See Publication 526, Charitable Contributions, for more on these rules.

6. Form 8283.  You must file Form 8283, Noncash Charitable Contributions, if your deduction for all noncash gifts is more than $500 for the year.

7. Records to Keep.  You must keep records to prove the amount of the contributions you made during the year. The kind of records you must keep depends on the amount and type of your donation. For example, you must have a written record of any cash you donate, regardless of the amount, in order to claim a deduction. For more about what records to keep refer to Publication 526.

8. Donations of $250 or More.  To claim a deduction for donated cash or goods of $250 or more, you must have a written statement from the charity. It must show the amount of the donation and a description of any property given. It must also say whether the organization provided any goods or services in exchange for the gift.

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    This website was created due to the atrociously misguided financial advice that I've heard over the decades.  Financial freedom is not intellectually strenuous, but it takes discipline. 

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    BHAG UPDATE
    College Savings
    College Savings
    Credit
    Economics
    Estate Planning
    Estate Planning
    Financial Planning
    Financial Planning
    Insurance
    Investing
    INVESTMENT JOURNAL
    Mistakes
    Net Worth Update
    Retirement
    Tax
    Thrift

    Archives

    August 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    February 2017
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    January 2011

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.