Tax Tip of the Week
900 N. Kings Highway, Cherry Hill, New Jersey 08034
856.667.4100 ·
215.563.0276 ·
Fax: 856.667.3652
For the week of
October 9, 2000
Heed the rules if you make year-end charitable gifts
If you are planning to make gifts to charities,
here are a few things to keep in mind.
- Your gift is tax-deductible only if it is made to a “qualified”
charity.
- The value of services you render to a charity is not deductible.
- Out-of-pocket expenses while doing volunteer work for a charity,
such as telephone charges, travel, and uniforms, are deductible.
- Automobile expenses may be taken at the standard 14 cents
per mile in lieu of the actual expenses.
- Tickets to charitable events are only deductible to the extent
the price exceeds the value received. For example: You pay $35 for a show put on by the charity, and the normal
price of the ticket is $10. Your deduction is limited to $25.
- Cash contributions must be substantiated by proper records.
- Contributions of $250 or more must generally be substantiated
by a written acknowledgment from the charity.
- If noncash contributions (other than publicly-traded securities)
exceed $5,000, a qualified appraisal is required.
- There are limits as to the amount of donations that you can deduct in any one tax year.
If you are considering making sizable gifts to qualified
charities or to others, please call us for assistance. We are here to assist you and to see that you pay no more
tax than the law requires. You do not need to be an existing client of our firm to call with your questions.
Click here to view previous tax tips.
"Tax Tips" are published weekly to
provide useful tax information. Return to this site every week for helpful tax-cutting suggestions, tax reminders,
and current tax information.
The information contained in this site is of a general nature and should not be acted upon in your specific situation
without further details and/or professional assistance.
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