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Re: Tax Questions
Turba, Thomas N (Thomas.Turba@UNISYS.COM)
Mon, 28 Sep 1998 16:43:59 -0600
Yes, (Dave, Paul, Ted, Robert, and others) I have been watching this thread.
The second question is not really important, so I will not comment on it.
The first one does deserve a few words, however.
> 1. Are donations made to an individual scout unit deductable?
>
In general the answer is yes. However, they must be true donations.
You should be careful with what you do here if the donation is money rather
than goods. In general, most monetary donations to Scouts are done at a
level that is higher than the unit. The IRS is fully aware of this.
Although no one at the IRS has ever admitted it that I know of, my
conversations with people that have been audited leads me to believe that
when they see a monetary donation at the unit level it is a flag.
I know leaders that have claimed such deductions and been audited. Most of
the cases have been where leaders have had nondeductible expenses listed as
a donation to a unit. In most cases the expenses were paid with a check
made out to the unit. The leaders were all asked for further documentation
and proof that is was a true donation. None that I know of got a full
deduction.
If you ever think of doing this to increase deductions, it is not worth it.
If you get caught, your truthfulness is brought into question and an audit
can become much more intense.
Yes, out of pocket expenses for yourself are deductible, but it is not
categorized as a donation to the unit. Always keep donations and expenses
separate.
Donations of equipment (tents, stoves, etc.) to a unit are quite acceptable
and generally are not flag items.
The most important thing is simply to be honest. And, keep good
documentation.
I hope these comments are useful. And, there will be an updated Taxes and
Scouting document this year.
YiS
T. N. T.
Thomas N. (Tom) Turba
E-mail: Thomas.Turba@Unisys.Com
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