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The Contributions Of Charitable Organizations

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Charity is the voluntary giving of help, contributing tangible and/or intangible assets to a community, individual or a non-for-profit organization whose set up is to provide aid for those in need. “Contributions to qualified charitable organizations serve certain social welfare needs and thus relieve the government of the cost of providing these needed services to the community” (South-Western Federal Taxation 2016, p.10-18) So in turn, the government has recognized the advantage of taxpayers donating assets in need and therefore have created an incentive to encourage taxpayers to repetitively contribute. This enticement can be found in §170 of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC), which authorizes individuals and corporations to deduct …show more content…

Before reaping the benefits of contributing to charities certain rules and regulations must be met in order to receive the specified reimbursements, in the form of deductions from AGI, while avoiding any repercussions and consequences. “To be deductible, a contribution must be made to one of the following qualified organizations: 1) A state or possession of the United States or any subdivisions thereof. 2) A corporation, trust, community chest, fund, or foundation that is situated in the United States and is organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, literary, or educational purposes or for the prevention of cruelty to children nor animals. 3) A veterans’ organization. 4) A fraternal organization operating under the lodge system. 5) A cemetery company” (South-Western Federal Taxation 2016, p.10-20). In order to claim deductions taxpayers must unambiguously list any charitable contributions and normally are permitted to receive their deduction within the taxable year. “Transfers to charitable organizations are deductible only if they are contributions or gifts and not if they are payments for goods or services” (IRC § 170(a)). For cash contributions, taxpayers must maintain receipts from the charitable organization, copies of cancelled checks, or other reliable records showing the name of the organization, the date, and the amount contributed. Taxpayers do not always subsidize cash to charity but instead

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