Comments on: Deducting Donations – IRS Tax Rules

By: jeff brantley

jeff brantley — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 07:26:03 +0000

I have donated each year over 50,000 in cash and am now being audited because the auditor can’t find a check or some other way to sustantiate the deduction EVEN though I have EVERY record amount and date from the financial institutions that I gave too. PLease help. These guys are wearing me out…By the way I had a house burn, rehabbed child, divorce,business embezzled from….shall I go on…..I am one of the good guys and I just don’t understand this. Any help…Thanks….JB

By: jim

jim — Thu, 08 Dec 2005 02:22:43 +0000

Elliott,
Why not simply pay the business the FMV of the property and then have them donate the money to you? The proceeds of the sale would be considered income and the donation would be tax deductible. Would that not have the same effect?

Disclaimer: I am not a tax professional, please consult a professional before you make any decisions.

By: Elliott Mumper

Elliott Mumper — Thu, 08 Dec 2005 00:03:00 +0000

Our church is in the process of trying to buy a house that has been used by an engineering firm (it is now zoned commercial) as an office. If this firm sells our church this property less than the fair market value an assessor has determined it to be worth; can it deduct the difference between what we pay for the property and the fair market value that he may lose in the transaction as a donation?

Thank-you,
Elliott Mumper

By: Financial Rounds

Financial Rounds — Tue, 05 Jul 2005 12:52:21 +0000

This Week’s Carnival of Personal Finance

This Week’s Carnival of Personal Finance is up at All Things Financial. Here are some of the ones I found interesting and/or helpful (of course, your mileage may vary):

By: jim

jim — Fri, 01 Jul 2005 18:40:55 +0000

Yeah, except the car died a month ago and until then, there wasn’t any indication it was going to go… oh well. She’s planning on donating it to her school’s shop class so they can work on it. Not entirely sure how that works since the school isn’t going to liquidate it… I also don’t know if they’re considered an eligible organization. The car isn’t worth too much anyway with the head gasket problem, radiator leak and the sticky clutch.

By: FMF

FMF — Fri, 01 Jul 2005 17:26:56 +0000

Should have donated the car last year. I did and was able to take off the Blue Book value. Now you can only take what the charity sells it for (which is probably going to be less since they just want to liquidate it and get the $$$$).

By: jim

jim — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 17:03:54 +0000

The requirements are per single donation, so if you donate 100 pieces of property under $250 each at separate times, you only need to keep records for under $250 non-cash donations for each donation. You are still subject to donation limits and they can always come back and ask for more information. Chances are they’ll ask you for records and then ask the organization you donate to for corroborating records (since they will likely keep records as well).

By: J

Thu, 30 Jun 2005 15:53:39 +0000

Thanks for the info! Do the requirements apply to any SINGLE donation or your total donations? So no receipt is needed for a property donation under $250, even if you make 100 donations (each under $250) over the cource of the year?