charity - Linkenheimer LLP CPAs & Advisors

Charitable IRA Rollovers May Be Especially Beneficial in 2018

If you’re age 70½ or older, you can make direct contributions — up to $100,000 annually — from your IRA to qualified charitable organizations without owing any income tax on the distributions. This break may be especially beneficial now because of Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) changes that affect who can benefit from the itemized deduction for charitable donations.

Counts toward your RMD

A charitable IRA rollover can be used to satisfy required minimum distributions (RMDs). You must begin to take annual RMDs from your traditional IRAs in the year you reach age 70½. If you don’t comply, you can owe a penalty equal to 50% of the amount you should have withdrawn but didn’t. (Deferral is allowed for the initial year, but you’ll have to take two RMDs the next year.)

So if you don’t need the RMD for your living expenses, a charitable IRA rollover can be a great way to comply with the RMD requirement without triggering the tax […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2020-09-03T20:04:27+00:00October 11th, 2018|charity, deductions, ira, New Tax Laws, retirement|0 Comments

The Linkenheimer Team Helps Out at Redwood Empire Food Bank

On Monday, July 23rd, the team from Linkenheimer, along with significant others met up after work at the Redwood Empire Food Bank to lend a helping hand. Summer months are always tough for REFB in terms of finding volunteers, so we were excited to be able to participate and assist a great local non-profit that has been serving Sonoma County for over a decade, providing meals to elderly, children and those in need. Over the course of our two hours there, we formed an assembly line to put together over 300 boxes of food for the elderly in our community, weighing in at over 7,000lb of food staples and drinks. Local charities like these are what makes Sonoma County such a great place to live and do business in and we are proud to support them.

By Linkenheimer LLP|2020-09-03T20:04:31+00:00July 27th, 2018|charity|0 Comments

What You Can Deduct When Volunteering

Because donations to charity of cash or property generally are tax deductible (if you itemize), it only seems logical that the donation of something even more valuable to you — your time — would also be deductible. Unfortunately, that’s not the case.

Donations of time or services aren’t deductible. It doesn’t matter if it’s simple administrative work, such as checking in attendees at a fundraising event, or if it’s work requiring significant experience and expertise that would be much more costly to the charity if it had to pay for it, such as skilled carpentry or legal counsel.

However, you potentially can deduct out-of-pocket costs associated with your volunteer work.

The basic rules

As with any charitable donation, for you to be able to deduct your volunteer expenses, the first requirement is that the organization be a qualified charity. You can use the IRS’s “Tax Exempt Organization Search” tool (formerly “Select Check”) at https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/tax-exempt-organization-search to find out.

Assuming the charity is qualified, you may be able to deduct out-of-pocket costs that are:

Unreimbursed,
Directly connected with the services you’re providing,
Incurred only because of your charitable work, and
Not “personal, living or family” expenses.

Supplies, uniforms […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2020-09-03T20:04:36+00:00July 10th, 2018|charity, deduction|0 Comments

Charitable Contribution Deduction Limitation Increased

The deduction for an individual’s charitable contribution is limited to prescribed percentages of the taxpayer’s “contribution base.” Under pre-Act law, the applicable percentages were 50%, 30%, or 20%, and depended on the type of organization to which the contribution was made, whether the contribution was made “to” or merely “for the use of” the donee organization, and whether the contribution consisted of capital gain property. The 50% limitation applied to public charities and certain private foundations.

No charitable deduction is allowed for contributions of $250 or more unless the donor substantiates the contribution by a contemporaneous written acknowledgment (CWA) from the donee organization. Under Code Sec. 170(f)(8)(D), IRS is authorized to issue regs that exempt donors from this substantiation requirement if the donee organization files a return that contains the same required information; however, IRS has decided not to issue such donee reporting regs.

New law. For contributions made in tax years beginning after Dec. 31, 2017 and before Jan. 1, 2026, the 50% limitation under Code Sec. 170(b) for cash contributions to public charities and certain private foundations is increased to 60%. (Code Sec. 170(b)(1)(G), as added by Act Sec. 11023) Contributions exceeding the 60% limitation are generally allowed to be carried forward and […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2020-09-03T20:04:46+00:00January 12th, 2018|charity, Community, contributions, deduction, deductions, New Tax Laws|0 Comments

Tips for Tax Payers Traveling for Charity

During the summer, some taxpayers may travel because of their involvement with a qualified charity. These traveling taxpayers may be able to lower their taxes.

Here are some tax tips for taxpayers to use when deducting charity-related travel expenses:

Qualified Charities. For a taxpayer to deduct costs, they must volunteer for a qualified charity. Most groups must apply to the IRS to become qualified. Churches and governments are generally qualified, and do not need to apply to the IRS. A taxpayer should ask the group about its status before they donate. Taxpayers can also use the Select Check tool on IRS.gov to check a group’s status.
Out-of-Pocket Expenses. A taxpayer may be able to deduct some of their costs including travel. These out-of-pocket expenses must be necessary while the taxpayer is away from home. All costs must be:
- Unreimbursed,
- Directly connected with the services,
- Expenses the taxpayer had only because of the services the taxpayer gave, and
- Not personal, living or family expenses.
Genuine and Substantial Duty. The charity work the taxpayer is involved with has to be real and substantial throughout the trip. The taxpayer can’t deduct expenses if they only have nominal duties or do not […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2020-09-03T20:04:54+00:00July 28th, 2017|charity, deduction, tax|0 Comments