As most of you are aware, any donations you give to the Grove are tax deductible.
This means that if you might owe money to the IRS because you claimed too many exemptions or made too much money, the amount you donate to the Grove will lessen how much you owe. It does this by lowering your "taxable income" amount.
Here are some things I've learned from my tax class that are tax deductible concerning the Grove:- Your yearly membership fee of $40 (soon to be $50)
- Your donations to attend workshops (You can deduct FMV or Fair Market Value for this, which in our case is the full amount)
- Your donations to attend high rites (You can deduct FMV or Fair Market Value for this, which in our case is the full amount)
- Your in-kind donations of brand new goods like supplies, foods, etc.
- For the Witan, any business dinners we might have
- Your mileage to and from the Grove if you serve on the Witan (based on a 14 cents per mile figure)
- Any cash donations
- Any in-kind donations of used goods that are appropriately depreciated according to the IRS (meaning since they are used they have to be depreciated or considered lesser value than if they were new)
Most of this you will need to keep track of (and keep receipts for) yourself.
If you place cash or receipts in the cauldron for above items, and label the envelop so we know what it is for, then Caryn will have a record of it as well. This will have the name of the organization, the date the donation was made, and the amount, as required by the IRS.
This also means that Workshop presenters and the Witan are responsible for tracking workshop participants. I do this already on my own with the "Workshop Presentation Form" I keep copies of at the Grove.We send end-of-year receipts to all donators, so be sure we have your contact information, especially if you do not come to the Grove often and are not a member.
Some further notes for those that itemize their taxes:- You must fill out Form 8283 (PDF) Section A, if your total deduction for all noncash contributions is more than $500. Your tax preparer will know this.
- Taxpayers donating an item or a group of similar items valued at more than $5,000 must also complete Section B of Form 8283, which requires an appraisal by a qualified appraiser. Your tax preparer will know this as well.
- You cannot deduct the value of your time or services. Nor can you deduct the cost of raffles, bingo or other games of chance. This means any money you spend at the Grove during our auctions or raffles is not tax deductible, nor is any labor you provide for the Grove.
- In general, contributions to charitable organizations may be deducted up to 50% of adjusted gross income computed without regard to net operating loss carrybacks
- If you want to know how to determine the fair market value of donated goods, view Publication 561
