I often receive questions from clients and readers about what can and cannot be deducted as a charitable contribution on Schedule A. The following items are not deductible: * Contributions made directly to an individual or family, regardless of the recipient's financial situation or health status. * Contributions to an organization created to lobby for changes to federal, state or local laws. * Contributions to political organizations or election campaigns. * The value of blood donated. * The value of your time to perform volunteer services. * Contributions to non-profit homeowner or condo associations, or social or sports clubs. * Contributions to foreign organizations. * Raffle tickets. These can, however, be deducted as gambling losses if you have any gambling winnings to report. * The rental value of the use of a vacation property donated to charity for a "vacation auction". * Appraisal fees to determine the value of donated property (required if the value of the item donated is more than $5,000.00). These fees can, however, be deducted as a "miscellaneous deduction" subject to the 2% of AGI exclusion. You can deduct: * Cash or property given to a qualified tax-exempt organization created or organized in the United States or any possession under the laws of the United States or any state or possession (special rules apply for donating a car to charity - but that is a topic for another article). * Out-of-pocket expenses connected with donations or volunteer service to a qualifying church or charity, such as the cost of the ingredients of homemade cookies or a cake donated to a church bake sale, or the cost and laundering of uniforms for a scoutmaster. * Travel and transportation expenses incurred while performing a volunteer service for a qualifying church or charity. If you use your car you can deduct 14 cents per mile in lieu of actual expenses plus any parking fees and tolls. * That portion of the cost of a ticket to a fund-raising event that is in excess of the "fair market value" of any goods or services you receive. If you buy a ticket for a fund-raising dinner, and the cost of the dinner is $35.00, you can deduct only $65.00. copyright (c) 2005 by Robert D Flach LLC |
