Announcement

Charitable Contributions

To be deductible as a charitable contribution, your donation must be made to bona fide charitable organization. Unfortunately, donations to family members or friends in need are not tax deductible -- they're considered non-deductible gifts.

Generally, the limit is 50% of your AGI (see "Medical Expense" announcment for AGI definition), although lower limits apply for certain types of contributions.

Contributions must separated between cash/check contributions and non-cash contributions, and you must substantiate your charitable contributions either way in most cases. For any cash/check contribution less than $250, all you need is either a cancelled check/bank statement, receipt from the receiving organization; or other reliable records with the date, amount given, and name of the organization. If you give $250 or more to any one organization in any one day, you need a receipt from the receiving organization.

For non-cash contributions, if the value of a single "lot" is less than $250 a receipt is not required where it is impractical to get one, e.g., you leave your items at a drop box. If the value of any single "lot" is $250 or greater, you must have a receipt for each lot showing the name of the organization, location, date, reasonably detailed description of the items given, fair market value and method for determining the fair market value (or cost basis if less). In addition, if the total of your non-cash charitable contributions exceed $500, we need all the same information as with the lot-greater-than-$250 plus how you acquired the donated items (most often "purchased").

It will be VERY helpful if you complete this form when you have non-cash charitable contributions when your total exceeds $500: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8283.pdf

There are special rules about certain kinds of charitable contributions, e.g., appreciated stocks or other property.