In addition to this being the time of the year when 501(c)(3) organizations come calling for charitable contributions of cash, it’s also the season for making donations of goods. Most commonly, that tends to be clothing and household items. I know from personal experience since I have three full bags of “gently worn” maternity and…
I received four charitable solicitations this week: one from my daughter’s school, one from my college, one from my law school and one from a local museum. No, word hadn’t gotten out about my new blogging gig, charitable organizations come calling about this time every year – and why not? Despite all of the signs…
It’s Fix the Tax Code Friday! Traditionally, charitable deductions have been limited to itemizers (meaning those who opt to take the itemized deduction rather than rely on the standard deduction). From time to time, Congress has considered extending the deduction to non-itemizers as a credit. This week’s question: If Congress did extend the deduction to…
For tax year 2003 (the most recent tax year for which data is available), individuals reported noncash donations valued at $36.9 billion. These donations were reported on federal form 8283, Noncash Charitable Contributions, which is required when a taxpayer makes noncash donations which exceed a total $500. Not surprisingly, corporate stock was the largest percentage,…
Don’t assume that you can just make lemonade. The IRS announced that they will not recognize certain deductions related to the sale/auction of used vehicles. Here’s the PR in its entirety: IRS Warns of Questionable Deductions for Donated Vehicles IR-2005-145, Dec. 22, 2005 WASHINGTON — Internal Revenue Service officials announced today that the IRS will…