Tag: 501(c) organization

Tax Deductions That Aren’t Allowed By the IRS

Getting tax deductions for an allowed expense on your taxes is great. Making the mistake of claiming a deduction that is not allowed by the IRS can you get into trouble and a possible audit. For example, you can deduct the expense of a dinner with clients up to 50% of the bill only. If you claim more than the 50% allowed or you do not properly record the business purpose of the meeting, the deduction could be thrown out.

Travel is similar to entertainment were only the part of the travel that is business related can be deducted. If you take your family or your spouse with you and do things on your trip purely for pleasure, those parts of the trip cannot be deducted on your return.

Commuting costs are only allowed from one business location to another business location. The commute from your home to the office is not something you can deduct on your taxes.

tax deductions
Tax Deductions That Aren’t Allowed By the IRS

Make sure your charity giving is to IRS recognized organization or the donation will not be deductible. And if you get something, like a night at the opera, in exchange for you donation, you need to subtract the fair market value of the benefit you receive from the donation that you claim.

And the  IRS has made giving to charities without a proper record not something you can deduct. You could previously deduct small amounts of cash that you gave to charities. But now it is required that you have proof of the donation to get the deduction. So write a check instead of giving cash.

TurboTax ItsDeductible Is Going Mobile

On December 3, 2013, Intuit Inc announced that its’ new TurboTax ItsDeductible app for iPhone had become available. This app is aimed at helping the estimated seventy-five percent of US citizens who donate to charity, convert their goodwill into sizable tax deductions. This app is free of charge and offered on the iPhone with iOS7 app store.

The Turbo Tax online program itself is very popular. When combined with the portability and convenience of a mobile device, the TurboTax ItsDeductible app allows people to easily monitor their charitable donations. This app features valuations for over ten thousand commonly donated items, like toys, clothing, sporting goods, games, appliances, household products and more.

Although most taxpayers are aware that non cash donations might be tax deductible, they do not always value the goods they donate to charity correctly. Usually, this is because they have just guessed the value randomly. For example, sometimes, bags of clothes are donated with $50.00 valuations, when the real value is over $300.00.

Prior to leaving a donation facility, people can easily and quickly input their donated goods into TurboTax ItsDeductible. Then, the app will automatically make a fair market valuation, based on guidelines by the Internal Revenue Service. This ensures that users receive the full deductions they are entitled to on their tax returns. The app uses location sensitive technology to quickly capture the address of the charity, for tax record keeping. All philanthropists should monitor their donations with this app, to be properly rewarded for their generosity.

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