Careful Giving

With the end of the year coming up, people are being asked to make donations to many organizations.  While others are planning ahead for the end of the tax year.  Either way, you need to make sure the charity that you are donating to is legitimate.

With many people out there to scam people, choosing a charitable organization can be challenging.  Here’s what you need to look for:

• Find out whether they have a 501(c) tax status if you are planning to deduct this on your IRS tax return.

• Find out how much of each dollar is used for the cause, versus how much is used for administration expenses. The higher the dollar amount used for the cause the better.

To find out this information go to www.Give.org to do your research before making your donation.  Once you have decided to make your donation, then you need to make sure you have the proper documentation for tax purposes.

For monetary donations, a cancelled check would be your receipt.  For non-cash items such as food, clothing, household items, furniture etc, you will need to make an itemized list of the items and the value.  Make sure to get a receipt from the organization that you are making the donation to. Attach this to your itemized list and keep with your tax records.