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  • Charitable contributions

    From Adam H. Kerman@21:1/5 to Michael F. Stemper on Mon May 3 17:29:59 2021
    Michael F. Stemper <[email protected]> wrote:

    If a taxpayer makes a donation in excess of $50.00 to a 501(c)(3) >organization, it's my understanding that the organization is supposed
    to document that donation in the following calendar year, by sending
    a receipt to the taxpayer.

    What specific regulation or law is that? I've spent some time looking,
    but my searches have come up empty. Can anybody provide me with a
    pointer to the relevant IRS page?

    In addition, the charity is substantiating that the donor received no
    goods nor services in exchange and the entire amount is deductible.

    When I write a thank you letter on behalf of a charity, I use this key
    language suggested by Publication 1771:

    Thank you very much for your generous contribution of $____, for
    which no goods nor services were received in exchange. This will
    help to [portion of mission statement], a cause that you believe in.

    Please save this letter with your tax records. This letter
    provides written acknowledgement to substantiate a charitable
    contribution on your tax return.

    --
    << ------------------------------------------------------- >>
    << The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, >>
    << nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties >>
    << that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. >>
    << >>
    << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts >>
    << to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy >>
    << are at www.asktax.org. >>
    << Copyright (2011) - All rights reserved. >>
    << ------------------------------------------------------- >>

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  • From Maria Ku@21:1/5 to All on Wed May 5 18:33:51 2021
    From IRS Pub 1771 page 2 https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p1771.pdf:

    Written Acknowledgment

    Requirement

    A donor cannot claim a tax deduction for any single contribution of $250 or more unless the donor obtains a contemporaneous, written acknowledgment of the contribution from the recipient organization. An organization that does not acknowledge a
    contribution incurs no penalty; but, without a written acknowledgment, the donor cannot claim the tax deduction.

    --
    << ------------------------------------------------------- >>
    << The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, >>
    << nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties >>
    << that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. >>
    << >>
    << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts >>
    << to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy >>
    << are at www.asktax.org. >>
    << Copyright (2011) - All rights reserved. >>
    << ------------------------------------------------------- >>

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  • From Tom Russ@21:1/5 to Maria Ku on Thu May 6 21:27:26 2021
    On Wednesday, May 5, 2021 at 3:37:48 PM UTC-7, Maria Ku wrote:
    From IRS Pub 1771 page 2 https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p1771.pdf:

    Written Acknowledgment

    Requirement

    A donor cannot claim a tax deduction for any single contribution of $250 or more unless the donor obtains a contemporaneous, written acknowledgment of the contribution from the recipient organization. An organization that does not acknowledge a
    contribution incurs no penalty; but, without a written acknowledgment, the donor cannot claim the tax deduction.

    While there might not be an IRS penalty for not acknowledging a contribution, as a practical matter it behooves charities to provide the written documentation
    if they hope to get repeat contributions.

    --
    << ------------------------------------------------------- >>
    << The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, >>
    << nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties >>
    << that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. >>
    << >>
    << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts >>
    << to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy >>
    << are at www.asktax.org. >>
    << Copyright (2011) - All rights reserved. >>
    << ------------------------------------------------------- >>

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