I made cash contributions to my church this year. How do I documet on my taxes?

Question

I dont have recieps nor am I able to obtain canceled checks for the contributions were made in cash.

Answer 1

Can you obtain a printout from your church? If not, you cannot claim a deduction. having said that, most churches have a system for recording donations.

In any case, if you do not itemize your deductions you cannot claim donations (although some states will still allow you to claim them on your state return provided you have the evidence mentioned above).

Edit: tma, who claims to be a CPA, is giving dangerous advice. Strictly speaking you must have evidence for every item claimed on your return. It is only general practice which causes the IRS not to chase small amounts. That is going to change. Get in the habit of obtaining receipts for all expenses and deductions.

Edit: jseah, thanks for the links. tma, read them and keep yourself up to date.

Answer 2

2006 tax return is the last year that you can deduct charitable contributions without receipts. You should start using personal checks for cash contribution or make sure to obtain receipts from now.

As for 2006 return, charitable contribution, among other deductible items, is documented on Schedule A (to be filed along with your 1040). Filing Schedule A is also referred as itemizing deductions.

You can benefit from the charitable deduction only if your total itemized deduction on Schedule A is greater than your standard deduction amount. Single person's standard deduction is $5,150. Married filing jointly is $10,300. Head of Household is $7,550.

To see if you have sufficient deductions to itemize, check out the list in IRS documentation http://www.irs.gov/instructions/i1040sa/index.html

Best wishes.

Answer 3

Our church has put an announcement in every newsletter since September on that one. You may skate by for 2006 on your word of honor but for 2007, either use a check or put cash in a special donation envelope from your church, with a space for your name. The administrator will record how much you gave. Ours sends out a "statement of giving" every financial quarter for our taxes.

Answer 4

This is why you should always write a check rather than give cash, even if it is done weekly during the offering collection in the service.

The IRS has recently announced that they are easing their requirements for documentation. No longer will they necessarily require a statement from the recipient, etc. They will begin to accept other forms of proof such as bank statements, etc. However, they will start to crack down on charitable contributions as well.

Read this announcement at the IRS website

http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=164997,00.html

Answer 5

Yes but you'll have to get a statement from your church office.

I'm a fairly generous giver to my church, but this is why I never drop cash in the plate when it's passed around. I always mail a check to the office to keep my records straight.

Answer 6

since im sure youre only talking about a couple of hundred dollars at most, you can deduct it on schedule A without backup. you wont have a problem.

yes, you should have receipts, but the IRS also acknowledges that people do give cash. again, dont worry about the amount if it is minimal. we're not talking about thousands of dollars, and the IRS wont waste their time auditing a return over this.

and, yes skip, i am a cpa. ive prepared literally thousands of tax returns over the past 10 years to know what can and cant be done.

Answer 7

Your church should give you a statement of giving at the beginning of tax season.