Category: Charities

Last year the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was in hot water for its overzealous scrutiny of applications from the Tea Party and others with similar wording on applications for tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(4). The whole controversy started with an IRS apology of its actions prior to the last Presidential elections. All non-profit groups engaged in promoting “social welfare” requires to obtain Section 501(c) (4) tax-exempt status. The affected organizations claim that they were subject to more scrutiny and their applications were delayed by asking additional information.

These groups are primarily advocacy groups and not specifically election advocacy groups that are subject to the Federal Election Commission supervision. Therefore, the scrutiny of these groups falls only under the IRS code. In the latest explanation from IRS, it says that they didn’t single out just these groups and 200 or so similar groups have been closely scrutinized by the IRS during the same period. The IRS also indicates that they were merely trying to understand how these groups operate before taking an action to approve or deny their 501(c)(4) status applications. According to the IRS, more than 44,000 similar organizations including home owner associations, sports clubs, grass-roots such as Sierra Club operates under this umbrella.

Deadline to file your 2013 Tax Return is April 15, 2014. Don’t forget to claim your charitable donation tax deduction if you have contributed to charitable organizations. They not only include the money, stocks and goods you donated to charity but also miles you drove for charitable purposes.

Make sure to keep your records, receipts and other documents related to charitable giving and miles driven. Keep them with your tax documents for the same length of time period recommended by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for your tax documents. These documents include but not limited to cancelled checks, records of stocks donated, and others such as credit card records.

When it comes to claiming a tax deduction for donated items to charity, there are several rules you have to follow. The value of donated items should be calculated based on one of IRS recommended method. Many use thrift store prices to calculate the value of donated items.

Only money, stocks and goods donated to an IRS recognized 501 (c)(3) charitable organizations and connected mileage qualify for deduction. So, it is important to check the IRS status of the charitable organization before your donation of goods and time.

Many call him “The Cool” pope. Becoming more popular as poor people’s pontiff, Pope Francis is planning to auction his 1,585cc Harley-Davidson Dyna Super Glide to raise funds for Catholic charities. Money raised through the auction will go to Caritas Roma’s that is in the process of renovating a hostel and a soup kitchen in the Vatican. The Harley-Davidson comes with his signature that reads “Francesco” on the tank. Bonhams Auction House will be the auctioneer.

It was a gift to Pope Francis in June 2013 from Harley-Davidson to commemorate its 110th anniversary of the company. The United States based Harley-Davidson is famous for its unique motor cycle brand and has reputation for manufacturing reliable motor cycles. They wanted Pope to maintain a low key profile and Pope’s refusal to ride extravagant vehicles at the Vatican prompted them to donate the Harley. No one knows whether the Pope rode on the Harley or not. The auctioneer Bonhams expect to sell the Harley for $16,000 to $20,000 at the auction based on the charitable purpose of the auction. A leather jacket will also be auctioned off after the motor cycle to raise funds for the same cause.

It is that time of the year you get ready for year-end tax moves and get ready to file your yearly tax forms. Many tax payers fail to claim charitable donations they made to qualified charities. Qualified charities are those charities including religious institutions that are formed under the IRS Code Section 501 (c)(3). In order to get credit for your charitable donation, you should be itemizing your deductions and file a long Form 1040.

If you have donated more than $250 to a qualified charity, make sure to obtain a receipt and keep it with your tax documents.

Value of non-cash donations such as household items as well as donated time and travel for charitable work also qualify for a deduction. When calculating the value of donated items other than securities, IRS provides guidelines to follow. For most of household items and cloths, IRS will accept valuations based on thrift store prices. When it comes to stocks and other securities, value to use is the appreciated value of the security. Miles driven for charitable activities can be calculated using IRS mileage value tables. Keep in mind rates are different for each category such as miles driven for medical, charitable work and unreimbursed office work.

The world’s richest man and the chairman and co-founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates and his wife Melinda Gates’ foundation known as Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation started in April 2006. It is the world’s largest private charitable foundation that involves in global health programs, global development programs and United States programs including education. Programs involved include reducing HIV infections to college-ready education and post-secondary education success in the U.S. As of June 2013, it had an endowment worth over $38.3 billion. Warren Buffet, another notable billionaire and Berkshire Hathaway Chairman has agreed to donate substantial amount of his shares in the company to the Gates Foundation starting with 500,000 shares worth over $1.5 billion. The foundation is controlled by its three trustees Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett.

According to published reports, the Foundation grants in 2011 totaled over $4.4 billion. The Gates, who has an estimated net worth over $66 billion expected to give away majority of their fortune over their lifetime. It is estimated that the Foundation has granted more than $25 billion to date for their causes. In addition to giving away their fortune, the Gates spend most of their time on charitable work spending time all over the world.