The New Tax Act: Tips for End of Year Giving

This is the season of giving — and now that the new Tax Act has passed, there’s even more reason to do your Charitable Giving before December 31st! If you need advice on which organizations are worthy on such short notice, don’t hesitate to contact us or take a look to our 2018 Mexico Giving Guide! There are options to set up donor advised funds without determining the beneficiary organizations immediately.

Most important, with the new Tax Act it may not be cost effective to itemize your deductions, so a deduction in 2017 could be more valuable to you than the same deduction in 2018. We recommend a review of all your deductions with a Tax Professional.

Five main take a ways for Charitable Giving:

• Credit cards count when the charge is posted, not when you pay the bill.
• Checks count when mailed.
• Cash contributions must have receipts.
• Donors must get a written acknowledgement from the charity for all gifts worth $250 or more including clothing etc. (This must also state that you received nothing of value in return)
• Generally contributions of greater than $5,000 will require an appraisal.

Happy Holidays!

Issue Number: Tax Tip 2017-59
Photo: Fundación Dibujando un Mañana, A.C.