There are many types of charitable giving a person may do over the course of the year. Among the issues that can come up in connection to such gifts are tax issues. This is because, under U.S. tax law, taxpayers can claim deductions for their donations to charity.
Now, there are various requirements for making such deductions. When a person plans to claim deductions in connection to their charitable giving, it is very important for them to stay in compliance with these requirements. This includes those related to paperwork.
One documentation requirement that a taxpayer could be subject to in connection to charitable deductions is the written acknowledgment requirement. For certain types of charitable gifts, a taxpayer has to have gotten a written acknowledgment of the gift from the organization that the gift was to in order to deduct it. The acknowledgement must be obtained before the filing of or the due date for the filing of the tax return for the tax year in which the charitable gift occurred, whichever is earlier.
Now, this particular documentation requirement only applies to individual charitable gifts that are $250 or more. In determining whether this value threshold has been passed, each donation is considered individually. They are not added together. So, multiple charitable gifts to the same organization, no matter what their cumulative total is, are not subject to the written acknowledgement requirement as long as each individual gift is under $250.
As this illustrate, circumstances impact what requirements a person has to meet in relation to charitable deductions they wish to take. Skilled tax planning lawyers can help taxpayers understand what particular requirements apply to the charitable giving deductions and other deductions they plan to take. They can also assist with tax planning issues related to such requirements. Careful tax planning could go a long way in helping prevent future tax problems from coming up in connection to deductions.