Question 1:
Is there a required date by which contribution statements should to sent to church constituents?
Answer 1:
There is no mandatory date for distribution of contributions statements. However, IRS Publication 1771 states, "a donor is responsible for obtaining a written acknowledgment from a charity for any single contribution of $250 or more before the donor can claim a charitable contribution on his/her federal income tax return." If the church fails to provide this statement within a reasonable time, then donors should request it.
Question 2:
Is it inappropriate to list only a total amount given for the calendar year or must there will a statement with a record of each offering given?
Answer 2:
Please see my December 29, 2010, posting linked below:
Review of Year-End Charitable Giving Reports by Churches
Is there a required date by which contribution statements should to sent to church constituents?
Answer 1:
There is no mandatory date for distribution of contributions statements. However, IRS Publication 1771 states, "a donor is responsible for obtaining a written acknowledgment from a charity for any single contribution of $250 or more before the donor can claim a charitable contribution on his/her federal income tax return." If the church fails to provide this statement within a reasonable time, then donors should request it.
Question 2:
Is it inappropriate to list only a total amount given for the calendar year or must there will a statement with a record of each offering given?
Answer 2:
Please see my December 29, 2010, posting linked below:
Review of Year-End Charitable Giving Reports by Churches
Is this to suggest that any amount under $250 does not require a receipt?
ReplyDeleteThanks for your Blog...I've found it very helpful!
For contributions less than $250, donors can use a cancelled check, for example, as documentation rather than the "contemporaneous, written acknowledgment of the contribution from the recipient organization" (Publication 1771) required for contributions of $250 or more. Most churches provide an annual summary or total to donors for their convenience, even if no individual contributions equaled or exceeded $250.
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