Deducting Miles Driven for Charity
Taxpayers may be able to deduct miles driven for charity.
Are Donations to a 501(c)(4) Deductible?
Can you deduct donations to a 501(c)(4). In general, the answer is no.
The Importance of Documenting Charitable Contributions
We’ve been covering charitable contributions recently, and this Tax Court case from 2010 fits in nicely with that series of articles. The Tax Court case involved a couple from California who had more than $27,000 of charitable contributions disallowed by the IRS on their 2006 tax return. The Court ruled against the couple, costing them […]
Deducting Charitable Mileage (And Other Miscellaneous Charitable Deductions)
An often overlooked charitable deduction is the deduction for mileage driven for charitable purposes. Taxpayers can take a deduction — 14 cents per mile (this amount is set by statute and is not adjusted for inflation, so it’s been 14 cents for many years) — for mileage driven in giving services to a charitable organization, […]
Donating a Car to Charity
In the good old days (before 2005), taxpayers could donate a car to charity and claim a deduction for the fair-market value of the car. It didn’t matter if the charity only sold the car for a few-hundred dollars. The taxpayer could claim a deduction for the fair-market value of the car. That all changed in 2005. […]
Recordkeeping Requirements for Charitable Contributions
We’ve explored the basics of charitable contributions and which organizations qualify for tax-deduction purposes. Today, I’ll explore the recordkeeping requirements for documenting your charitable contributions. Documentation for contributions by cash, check or credit card is straightforward enough. Maintain receipts or other records that show the amount donated and when. If you donate more than $250 […]
Donating a House to a Fire Department
Can you claim a charitable deduction for donating a house to a volunteer fire department? The answer is yes, but it’s hard to strucure the transaction in such a way that you can get a big deduction. In 2010, the U.S. Tax Court ruled against a Wisconsin couple that had claimed a charitable contribution deduction […]