Maximum charitable deduction without a receipt on tax returns?

[Nitemare]

Does anyone know? I was thinking it was 50, but I could not find anything that said it was so.

I know I gave to charity last year, but don't recall the amount nor do I have any receipts.

 

[Moonbeam]

On a similar note, can somebody tell me how high a fraudulant deduction for charity I can take without incurring an audit? Geez

 

[hevnsnt]

$200 I think

 

[FettsBabe]

Think its $500

 

[kranky]

You know you have to itemize deductions to take a deduction for charitable contributions, right?

I believe the requirement is that the charity has to provide you a receipt for any single donation of $250 or more, but even if your donation was less you still should have to have some record like a cancelled check.

Now if you tossed $5 into the Salvation Army kettle at Christmas, you won't need a receipt, but they typically don't allow large donations with no corroborating evidence.

 

[AmigaMan]

I don't know if you can do that. I gave away $400 worth of clothes to a thrift store and they wrote a reciept for it. However since it was under $500, I did not have to attach it and show proof. I also had a couple grand worth of charitable cash contributions and did not have to show proof of it on my return either. But if you get audited, and you have no proof, you're up the creek. They'll slap you with fines and late penalties if they apply.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Unless you own a home or are a VERY generous donor to charity, it is not worth itemizing, and so it will not matter whether or not you can document your donations.

 

[tdog44632]

It's $250, but I agree it's probably not worth itemizing if you do not own a home.

Tony

 

[EagleKeeper]

If audited, you will have to show proof of anything stated.

You can list up to $500 non-cash goods without having to itemize items.

Cash deductions may? also be handled the same way.

 

[Moonbeam]

Don_Vito, Not to be picky, but I think you mean, 'unless the mortgage company owns your home'.

 

[BooneRebel]

<< Does anyone know? I was thinking it was 50, but I could not find anything that said it was so.

I know I gave to charity last year, but don't recall the amount nor do I have any receipts. >>

Nothing like waiting until the last minute to do your taxes, eh? Don't forget to record that vacation you took last summer as a business expense.

 

[yakko]

I don't know the number but it should be $0.

 

[Nitemare]

<<

<< Does anyone know? I was thinking it was 50, but I could not find anything that said it was so.

I know I gave to charity last year, but don't recall the amount nor do I have any receipts. >>

Nothing like waiting until the last minute to do your taxes, eh? Don't forget to record that vacation you took last summer as a business expense. >>



I'll have you know that I did them last night

but seriously who gets receipts when they are tossing in their change in the Salvation Army, Ronald McDonald house or any of those other places. All this adds up in the long run

It's not like I am running a side business as a sham and losing money so I can claim it as loss on my returns like some people are doing and getting back like 4 grand or so. Mine isn't shady in the least. Also, I did not itemize and thus wasn't able to do it on my federal, but the state let me do it. I was in no hurry to do them since I owed over a grand.

 

[SCSIfreek]

$250 w/o receipt.

If you have to pay uncle sam maybe you should look into IRA accounts.


--Scsi

 

[Cyberian]

<< Don_Vito, Not to be picky, but I think you mean, 'unless the mortgage company owns your home'. >>

My house has been paid off for many years, but I can still claim almost $7000 in taxes.
I still come out ahead by itemizing instead of using the standard deduction.

 

[drewshin]

anyone know about donating books to the library?

can i deduct this? if i can, i was wondering what amount to report. im pretty sure i cant deduct the cover value since they're not new,but
could i just use half the cover value? just wondering if anyone has done this before. i have a whole shelf of 2-3 year old computer books i need to get rid of.

 

[Nitemare]

<< $250 w/o receipt.

If you have to pay uncle sam maybe you should look into IRA accounts.


--Scsi >>



putting 4k into his/her (Roth) IRA's and I have almost 6 grand taken out into the company 401k. I'm claiming one deduction on my employers payroll and she is claiming 0. But we still get screwed around tax-time. If I hadn't went to college and got my edumacation last year we would be looking at almost 1.9k in the red.

Cyberian what do you itemize to get that much if you don't mind my asking?

Donating the books would probably be akin to donating an old computer..not sure of the actual breakdown though, might be up to the library and have the librarian offer a guesstimate receipt for about how much the books are worth.

 

[EagleKeeper]

If it is a book (paperback) that I have read only once, I deduct 75% of the cover list price.

Technical manuals I deduct the purchase price less 10% per year for depreciation and out of date info up to 50%. Any good reference book is worth at least tha amount.

 

[kranky]

drewshin, the librarian won't commit to a value (too risky). You are allowed to deduct the "fair market value". So if you are donating "Windows 95 Secrets", you'd be able to deduct about a buck.

If the books are about applications, and it's the current version, I'd claim 70% of the cover price as a deduction. If it's the next-to-most recent version, I'd use about 25% of the cover price. Older than that is where I use $1. If the books aren't about applications and they are still the current edition being sold, I'd go back to the 70% number.

 

[Moonbeam]

Cyberian, there are always exceptions, like if you had heart surgery and didn't have medical insurance or something, but for average people what Don_Vito said is true, except that what makes owning a home effective is the mortgage interest you pay because you don't own it outright.