My wife and I are filing separately because of the living situation we're in and we don't own a home. We both have contributed money to a local church organization, and would like to know what is the minimum you have to give to be able to claim the contributions as a deduction? Does that make sense? Also with me going to school this past year but having recieved financial aid and Ch. 35 veteran benefits (Father is 100% disabled Vietnam Vet) is it still possible for me to claim education credit as an exemption?
Thank You
2007-01-18 02:13:55 · 5 answers · asked by unknown 4 in Business & Finance ➔ Taxes ➔ United States
I graduated with a B.A. Degree in August.
2007-01-18 03:00:04 · update #1
you can only claim the school expenses what YOU personally paid out of your pocket- not claim what someone else gave you ( in case of a audit, you'll have to prove expense)
I don't think there is a minimum
2007-01-18 02:22:57 · answer #1 · answered by Mopar Muscle Gal 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There is no minimum on how much you can claim for charitable donations. However, if you contributed more than $250.00, you will need a statement from the charitable organization you contributed to. I've always found that itemizing (using a Schedule A and or B) is worth figuring out, you may benefit from itemizing or just using the standard deduction for a Married Filing Separate which is $5,150.00 this year.
As for the financial aid you received, I would need to know more about your situation. Are you an undergratuate (freshman or sophomore)? There are two types of credis: Hope Credit and the Lifetime Learning Credit.
To find out what portion of your financial aid is taxable and/or reportable, go to Publication 970 pages 5-7. You should be able to find out what you can and cannot deduct based on your income and other factors. Make sure you have Adobe so that you can read the PDF file. The IRS has all their forms, publications, instructions, etc. in PDF format. If you do not have Adobe reader, you can download it for free at www.adobe.com
2007-01-18 02:37:14 · answer #2 · answered by porselin 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
IRS has provision for Tuition and Books but that is subject to a formula based on how much you made. Instructions should be available with your Fed forms...As far as Cntributing Deductions, the minimum is $1 if you are itemizing contributions...But these get lumped together on the Fed forms anyway. The only reason you would itemize them is for auditing purposes. Remember also, that your contirbutions are subject to an adjustment amount based on your adjusted income...
2007-01-18 02:24:29 · answer #3 · answered by BAM55 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can deduct any amount that you contributed to a non-profit organization as long as they have the 501(c)3 designation from the IRS. You have to itemize to deduct charitable contributions, though, which means you'd have to have more in itemized deductions than the standard deduction.
If you're married filing separately, then if one of you itemizes, the other one must itemize also.
2007-01-18 17:24:35 · answer #4 · answered by Judy 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you can't deduct donations unless you have itemized deductions. If you don't own a house you are not likely to have enough to itemize.
2007-01-18 03:49:56 · answer #5 · answered by Ovrtaxed 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋