The Federal Tax Credits Blog

Archive for the ‘Donation Tax Credits’ Category

Question: Income tax – donations and gifts?

I occasionally send money to my mom who resides outside of Canada. It isn’t much but anything that would add up to my refund is big help now that everything is so unpredictable.
My question is: Can I claim the amount that I’ve sent to her under donations and gifts (Ontario non refundable tax credits)?

Answer: No. In order to claim a deduction for donations and gifts, you must be donating to a registered Canadian charity. You also will not be able to claim her as a dependant since she doesn’t live with you. Sorry.

Alberta promises $500K for Haiti recovery

Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach promised $500,000 for earthquake relief in Haiti, a day after indicating the province wouldn’t be directly donating to an aid agency.

Nature Fresh Donation Program and Farm Donation Tax Credit Initiative

Question: Group Donation and Tax Credit?

I help run a mom’s group and we’re going to have an event where we are going to swap clothes and then take the left overs and donate to a women’s shelter. The question has been raised about how the tax receipt is going to work? I have no idea. Can you share a tax receipt? What do you all know about tax laws and group donations?
Personally I would have hoped no one wanted a receipt. I wasn’t going to get one in the first place. But someone asked and now I have to figure out the answer. I was hoping all the mom’s would do this without wanting some sort of return for it. Kind of sad really. My last solution if I can’t find an answer is to tell her to take her clothes and donate them herself.
Yeah we have about ten mother’s all donating well over a years worth of babies clothes, and if you have kids you know how much this can be. Me alone, I have six large trash bags of clothes. We’re donating toys as well and shoes and what not.

Answer: if you really want to split the receipt, you can.

just make a copy and write on it how much each of you is going to claim…but just to let you know…you would have to have given a lot and i mean a lot of clothes for this to make any sense. otherwise just one of you claim the deduction.

Charities benefit from end-of-year giving

A constant stream of cars and SUVs approached the loading dock at the back of the Goodwill store in Annapolis early yesterday afternoon, and employees were gearing up for even greater numbers today.

Charity Navigator’s Tax Tips: Noncash Donations

Question: Is anyone in favor of what I call “Constructive Capitalism?”?

Constructive Capitalism would enable the federal government to treat subsidies (grants and tax credits) as investments, not donations. Why doesn’t the government set up an investment corporation that would make decisions on grants and subsidies and take equity positions when it makes them available to entities engaged in potentially profitable research and development projects? If there is a payoff, the taxpayers would share in it.

One of the first HIV/AIDS drug was developed by Yale University researchers whose work was supported by a federal grant. When the drug worked and was taken to market, the University and/or the scientists got the patents and all the royalties. The government got $-0-.

I’m not talking about confiscatory participation, but if the government funds 20% of the cost of a project, whether it’s in pharmaceuticals or energy (or anything else), why shouldn’t taxpayers share in the rewards if the project works out well?

Answer: I’m not sure if I would call it constructive capitalism, but I agree with the concept.

I think if subsidies were handled as stock investments, with the federal government acting as a stockholder, it could help in several ways. It would encourage better federal oversight of these investments and would also put money back into the treasury–as you suggest.

A possibly related example of what you suggest is the ownership of the national railroads in Canada. Instead of operating them as a national entity the government acts as the sole stockholder, allowing management to concentrate on profitability.

I would like to see much more investment in railroads in the U.S., particularly in improving passenger services–which are all but nonexistent in parts of the west.

Another approach that I would suggest would be longer-range investment programs. I would think a corporation could be formed to manage federal investments and that its role would include developing both long and shorter range investment strategies with very limited Congressional influence.

Certainly there are opportunities for corruption wherever large amounts of money are involved, and I’m not entirely certain how one would avoid corruption in a federal investment corporation, but this should be approached either through an inspector general system or by very concentrated Congressional oversight through committees.

An interesting idea and one that is worthy of consideration. The federal corporate experience is not inspirational, however, witness the USPS and Amtrak as examples of good ideas gone bad.

Company news

Eleven Bethlehem businesses

J.K. Lasser’s 1001 Deductions and Tax Breaks 2012: Your Complete Guide to Everything Deductible $12.39 A straightforward guide to taking tax breaks and deductions on your 2011 tax returnCompletely revised to reflect important changes in this year?s tax laws, J.K. Lasser?s 1001 Deductions & Tax Breaks 2012 will help you take advantage of every tax break and deduction that you may be entitled to. This comprehensive guide is clearly organized by subject matter so you can easily find situations that ma…

J.K. Lasser’s 1001 Deductions and Tax Breaks 2011: Your Complete Guide to Everything Deductible $19.95 A straightforward guide to taking tax breaks and deductionsCompletely revised to reflect important changes in this year’s tax laws, J.K. Lasser’s 1001 Deductions & Tax Breaks 2011 will help you take advantage of every tax break and deduction you may be entitled to.This comprehensive guide is clearly organized by subject matter so you can easily find situations that may apply to you. Each tax benef…

J.K. Lasser’s 1001 Deductions and Tax Breaks 2010: Your Complete Guide to Everything Deductible $4.99 A straightforward guide to taking tax breaks and deductionsCompletely revised to reflect important changes in this year’s tax laws, J.K. Lasser’s 1001 Deductions & Tax Breaks 2010 will help you take advantage of every tax break and deduction you may be entitled to.This comprehensive guide is clearly organized by subject matter so you can easily find situations that may apply to you. Each tax benef…

Tax Credit Donation Speech

Have a car sitting around doing nothing? Why not turn it into cash and help America’s children at the same time? Every car donation made through the American Relief Foundation and other non-profit charities that offer similar incentive programs are rewarded with a free visa gift card. That car you thought wasn’t worth a thing really is!

Old cars sitting round rotting in driveways and yards are a nuisance and an eyesore. Organizations like The American Relief Foundation will take your unwanted car away for you and pay you for your donation. Each car is evaluated and so worth a different amount, but every car is worth something no matter what condition it is in.

Top 5 most Popular States people donate the most.

When you make a charity car donation through organizations like the ARF foundation you not only get a visa gift card in payment but also a tax deductible charity receipt thanking you for your donation. Many organizations around the country offer similar tax deductible receipts. As well as getting rid of an unwanted car you are getting something in return.

The American Relief Foundation and similar organizations often use your car donation to support children all across America who are suffering hardships caused by the recession and the meltdown of the American economy.

These children desperately need food, water, clothing and shelter. Sometimes they also need transportation and extra support with educational programs. Many of the children we support are the victims of the recession. Through no fault of their own they are left without enough food or warm clothing.

Many non-profit organization is totally committed to helping these children. Rather than just taking everything from you, the visa gift card is our way of thanking you for your part in helping our needy children. With our vehicle donation program everybody wins.

Some people are concerned that they can’t make a car donation because they have lost the title. At ARF we have access to the resources you need to locate and/or replace your vehicle’s title.

On our American Relief Foundations website we have links to the nation’s DMV websites, and (if available) direct access to the forms. Our great resource makes it easy for anyone from any state to navigate through what can otherwise be the confusing DMV sites of America. Once you receive your duplicate title it is a quick step to filling in our online form.

After you get your duplicate title feel free to contact a non-profit like The American Relief Foundation and one of our representatives will call you and arrange a pick-up at your convenience. Most non-profits can usually have your car removed for you within 2-24 hours no matter where you live.

Pick up time is also feel good time. Not only can you reclaim the space that car has been taking up but our drivers will also present you with your visa gift card. Along with that card you will also be given your tax deductible receipt. The real icing on the cake though is knowing that you have put a smile on the faces of those children who perhaps had little left to smile about.

Making a charity car donation is both simple and rewarding. No more useless car cluttering up your yard, a visa gift card and a refundable tax receipt, plus happier American children. At American Relief Fund we make it easy. We will take your car away for free and thank you for it.

Your support will come in the shape of a charity car donation. Cars are accepted regardless of condition running or not. Please help us with our cause. If you have a lost or misplaced title please visit our resource online with links to all 50 states DMV lost or duplicate title replacement sites linking you directly to the forms you need. After which please locate your state and location and start the car donation process!

United Way projects $250,000 shortfall

United Way is making an urgent appeal for help reaching its 2009 goal. Darcy Mykytyshyn, campaign chairman for the Central Alberta United Way, said on Wednesday that organizers are projecting a shortfall of $250,000 from their goal of $2.103 million.

Question: Is giving to a 501(c)3 a tax deduction or tax credit?

If you give a donation to a IRS 501(c)3, is it considered a tax deduction or a credit. If it is a deduction is there a ceiling one can give to offset their tax liability? What is the ratio? (For instance, for a $1000 donation your deduction is $250….so 25%)

Thanks…
Can someone one tell me what the reduction in tax liability would be (all things being equal and assuming all normal deductions are in place) for a business that has $1mil in AGI and donated $330k to a 501(c)3 charity.

I understand that you can give up to 50% of your AGI, but in this case my liability without the donation would be 330k, so if I donated the same amount to a charity….how much would i still owe the gov’t?

Thanks.

Answer: Deduction. You can deduct all that you donated, however it’s generally limited to 50% of your AGI for most charities. Of course these are itemized deductions so you must have enough to exceed your standard deduction to get any benefit.

• Goodwill sees increased donations

By Shavonne Potts spotts@salisburypost.com It’s that time of the year when people start thinking about a fresh start in the coming new year. Some people think ahead to tax time. The last few days of the year brings in hundreds locally and thousand …

J.K. Lasser’s 1001 Deductions and Tax Breaks 2012: Your Complete Guide to Everything Deductible $12.39 A straightforward guide to taking tax breaks and deductions on your 2011 tax returnCompletely revised to reflect important changes in this year?s tax laws, J.K. Lasser?s 1001 Deductions & Tax Breaks 2012 will help you take advantage of every tax break and deduction that you may be entitled to. This comprehensive guide is clearly organized by subject matter so you can easily find situations that ma…

J.K. Lasser’s 1001 Deductions and Tax Breaks 2011: Your Complete Guide to Everything Deductible $19.95 A straightforward guide to taking tax breaks and deductionsCompletely revised to reflect important changes in this year’s tax laws, J.K. Lasser’s 1001 Deductions & Tax Breaks 2011 will help you take advantage of every tax break and deduction you may be entitled to.This comprehensive guide is clearly organized by subject matter so you can easily find situations that may apply to you. Each tax benef…

J.K. Lasser’s 1001 Deductions and Tax Breaks 2010: Your Complete Guide to Everything Deductible $4.99 A straightforward guide to taking tax breaks and deductionsCompletely revised to reflect important changes in this year’s tax laws, J.K. Lasser’s 1001 Deductions & Tax Breaks 2010 will help you take advantage of every tax break and deduction you may be entitled to.This comprehensive guide is clearly organized by subject matter so you can easily find situations that may apply to you. Each tax benef…

TUSD Miles ELC Tax Credit Donation1.wmv