{"id":500,"date":"2011-08-22T17:03:57","date_gmt":"2011-08-22T22:03:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hoorfarlaw.com\/blog\/?p=500"},"modified":"2011-08-22T17:03:57","modified_gmt":"2011-08-22T22:03:57","slug":"nine-tips-for-charitable-taxpayers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hoorfarlaw.com\/blog\/?p=500","title":{"rendered":"Nine Tips for Charitable Taxpayers"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you make a donation to a charity this year, you may be able to take a
\ndeduction for it on your 2011 tax return. Here are the top nine things the IRS
\nwants every taxpayer to know before deducting charitable donations.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Make sure the
    \norganization qualifies<\/strong> Charitable contributions must be made to qualified
    \norganizations to be deductible. You can ask any organization whether it is
    \na qualified organization or check IRS Publication 78, Cumulative List of
    \nOrganizations. It is available at www.IRS.gov<\/a>.<\/li>\n
  2. You must itemize<\/strong> Charitable
    \ncontributions are deductible only if you itemize deductions using Form
    \n1040, Schedule A.<\/li>\n
  3. What you can deduct<\/strong> You generally can
    \ndeduct your cash contributions and the fair market value of most property
    \nyou donate to a qualified organization. Special rules apply to several
    \ntypes of donated property, including clothing or household items, cars and
    \nboats.<\/li>\n
  4. When you receive
    \nsomething in return<\/strong> If your contribution entitles you to receive
    \nmerchandise, goods, or services in return \u2013 such as admission to a charity
    \nbanquet or sporting event \u2013 you can deduct only the amount that exceeds
    \nthe fair market value of the benefit received.<\/li>\n
  5. Recordkeeping<\/strong> Keep good records of
    \nany contribution you make, regardless of the amount. For any cash
    \ncontribution, you must maintain a record of the contribution, such as a
    \ncancelled check, bank or credit card statement, payroll deduction record
    \nor a written statement from the charity containing the date and amount of
    \nthe contribution and the name of the organization.<\/li>\n
  6. Pledges and payments<\/strong> Only contributions
    \nactually made during the tax year are deductible. For example, if you
    \npledged $500 in September but paid the charity only $200 by Dec. 31, you
    \ncan only deduct $200.<\/li>\n
  7. Donations made near the
    \nend of the year<\/strong>
    \nInclude credit card charges and payments by check in the year you give
    \nthem to the charity, even though you may not pay the credit card bill or
    \nhave your bank account debited until the next year.<\/li>\n
  8. Large donations<\/strong> For any contribution of
    \n$250 or more, you need more than a bank record. You must have a written
    \nacknowledgment from the organization. It must include the amount of cash
    \nand say whether the organization provided any goods or services in
    \nexchange for the gift. If you donated property, the acknowledgment must
    \ninclude a description of the items and a good faith estimate of its value.
    \nFor items valued at $500 or more you must complete a Form 8283, Noncash
    \nCharitable Contributions, and attach the form to your return. If you claim
    \na deduction for a contribution of noncash property worth more than $5,000,
    \nyou generally must obtain an appraisal and complete Section B of Form 8283
    \nwith your return.<\/li>\n
  9. Tax Exemption Revoked<\/strong> Approximately 275,000
    \norganizations automatically lost their tax-exempt status recently because
    \nthey did not file required annual reports for three consecutive years, as
    \nrequired by law. Donations made prior to an organization’s automatic
    \nrevocation remain tax-deductible. Going forward, however, organizations
    \nthat are on the auto-revocation list that do not receive reinstatement are
    \nno longer eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    If you make a donation to a charity this year, you may be able to take a deduction for it on your 2011 tax return. Here are the top nine things the IRS wants every taxpayer to know before deducting … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-500","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-individual","category-nonprofits","category-taxation"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hoorfarlaw.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hoorfarlaw.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hoorfarlaw.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hoorfarlaw.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hoorfarlaw.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=500"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hoorfarlaw.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":501,"href":"https:\/\/hoorfarlaw.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500\/revisions\/501"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hoorfarlaw.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=500"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hoorfarlaw.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=500"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hoorfarlaw.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=500"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}