by
Lou Marconi, CFO
To All of our Valuable Volunteers:
In an effort to assist you with your 2007 charitable deductions for your
income tax preparation, Judy Taggart, Council CEO, asked me to compile a
list of potential Girl Scout related items that may be of help to you.
Charitable
Deductions
I pulled some of this data from IRS Publication 26 on the IRS
website:
www.irs.gov/publications/p526
Introduction
This publication explains how to claim a deduction for your charitable
contributions. It discusses organizations that are qualified to receive
deductible charitable contributions, the types of contributions you can
deduct, how much you can deduct, what records to keep, and how to report
charitable contributions.
A charitable contribution is a donation or gift to, or for the use of, a
qualified organization. It is voluntary and is made without getting, or
expecting to get, anything of equal value.
Qualified organizations
Qualified organizations include nonprofit groups
that are religious, charitable, educational, scientific, or literary in
purpose, or that work to prevent cruelty to children or animals. You will
find descriptions of these organizations under
Organizations That Qualify To
Receive Deductible Contributions.
Form 1040 required
To deduct a charitable contribution, you must file Form
1040 and itemize deductions on Schedule A. The amount of your deduction may
be limited if certain rules and limits explained in this publication apply to
you.
What's New for 2007
New recordkeeping requirements for cash contributions
You cannot deduct a
cash contribution, regardless of the amount, unless you keep as a record of
the contribution a bank record (such as a canceled check, a bank copy of a
canceled check, or a bank statement containing the name of the charity, the
date, and the amount) or a written communication from the charity. The
written communication must include the name of the charity, date of the
contribution, and amount of the contribution.
Child Care Credit
There is also some potential for you to qualify for the Child Care Credit.
This data has been pulled from IRS Publication 503 also available from the
IRS website as follows:
www.irs.gov/publications/p503
Work-Related Expense Test
Child and dependent care expenses must be work-related to qualify for the
credit. Expenses are considered work-related only if both of the following
are true.
- They allow you (and your spouse if you are married) to work or look for
work.
- They are for a qualifying person's care.
Child Care Credit as it related to Camp
The cost of sending your child to an
overnight camp, such as our Resident Summer Camp, is
not considered a
work-related expense.
The
cost of sending your child to a day camp may be a work-related expense,
even if the camp specializes in a particular activity, such as computers or
soccer.
For other help with your tax questions, go to the IRS website and search
through the publications list. They are listed by topic.
-Lou Marconi, CFO
.
