Poodle / Mix / Doodle / Fuzzy Critter - RESCUE / REHOME
Non-profit
If I make a donation to you, Can I deduct from my income taxes?
Posts
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AdminPermalink Reply by LM Fowler - Admin on -
Teri, You can "claim" donations up to $500 on YOUR income taxes, as far as I understand it. And that figure changes from year to year, so you should check with your accountant.
The ONLY benefit of having a 501c3, is that donors can make large donations to the non-profit and take the deduction on their income taxes. The non-profit can also apply for grants, with that designation. For the donor, there are no benefits unless you are giving more than $500, collectively, to all the places you give donation dollars throughout the year.
Having 501 status does not guarantee the non-profit is not making a profit and using non-profit monies to pay their phone bill, Netbook bill or rent. It does not mean it cannot use that money to pay for office supplies, gas in their cars and meals with anyone and write "business dinner" on the receipt. It does not mean they are not buying leashes, collars and Premium kibble for their own dogs. They would just have to keep those receipts and show a "loss" at the end of the year or if ever audited by the IRS.
A 501 does not say or show that the non-profit follows the law or common business practices. It does not mean that the non-profit is the only entity who can work with shelters, other rescues and/or rehomers. In fact, there are many, many people doing rescue and accepting donations and even spending their own money to help animals. In fact, I know of several rescues who accepted thousands of dollars before they achieved non-profit status and many others who have never even applied for the Non-Profit Status because of the $1000+ it costs to apply and they would rather spend that money on their dogs. Oh, it is acceptable to use your donations to pay for the 501 application, also. So, that is a lot of money that is donated and not used for the dogs.
Non-profits also have to follow certain laws and behave in an up and up manner in order to keep their 501 status. Behaving badly, slandering, lying, cheating and making false statements could cause them to lose their 501 status.
If you would like to donate to any group, I would suggest you look at their entire record and not that it just has a piece of paper. You should look at their business behavior and how it treats it's people and uses those donations. You should google them and see if any negative comments come up, like the other rescues who won't work with them, or how they behave in the public arena. It all says much to the character of the non-profit.
I hope I have answered your question satisfactorily. If you are here to help, we would appreciate it as we are all volunteers, who scour the various listings and bring all Oodles needing homes under one site. We are not actively seeking donations, but if someone does donate, that money goes toward keeping this site in operation and the annual fee of the url/addy. Any profit will be donated to help sick or injured Oodles like the sweet Peaches on our Main Page who needs surgery.
If you have any other sincere questions, please do not hesitate to ask.
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Member Since 2009Permalink Reply by Teri Sweatman on -
WOW, I simply needed a "yes' or a "no" Mike and I certainly take more than a $500.00 deduction on taxes every year to charities. I think you must be thinking of the short form taxes. Every charity we donate too pretty much is a legit non-profit and we have to be able to prove during an audit that they are with the correct paperwork. I gather from your VERY long explanation tht rescue resource collective is not a registered non-profit. I have donated to the rescue in the past and it was deductible. Has changing the name changed that?
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AdminPermalink Reply by LM Fowler - Admin on -
Not just on the short form taxes and it only matters during an audit, that you can show the receipts. I am not sure what "Legit. Non-Profit" means but if you donated less that $500 to the rescue in the past, it would still be allowed on your annual deductions. Of course, the rescue JUST recently became 501c3'd, so you should check with who you donated to and when.
As I was the Treasurer for the rescue until May 9, 2010, I looked through my files and I do not show a donation made by you, before then. If you donated after that, you should be asking the rescue these questions as I am not sure of the exact date they achieved their 501 status but I do know that it was after May 9, 2010, and I was no longer associated with them by that time.
In case you did not know, we are NO LONGER associated with the rescue and cannot be held liable for any actions created by them after I resigned and they were asked to leave this website.
If your next question is to ask why we still have http://doodlerescuecollective.com as our url, it is because it is the url that was purchased and associated with THIS website in January, 2009. It was paid for by me, then and ever since. That is how I was able to ask them to leave it. I have contacted NING twice and cannot change it without starting a new website, which I will not be doing.
I hope my response, long or short, helps answer your initial question and any others you may have.
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Permalink Reply by 3oy65wrt9x5l9 on
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I am a Canadian and an accountant. Our tax laws may be quite different, but I would caution anyone who is thinking of donating to organizations that those organizations be a registered charity or whatever the designation is in the US. I say this with no malice at all. I am only warning here because I have a number of clients who were lured into "charitable" schemes and then had to pay a great deal back because the donations were disallowed.
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AdminPermalink Reply by LM Fowler - Admin on -
Hence, the $500 max in the US. Sadly, even a 501 does not save people from charitable schemers.
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My husband is an accountant. He has told me that you can not take any charitable contribution unless it is made to a recognized charity. Lynne obviously you are misinformed.
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AdminPermalink Reply by LM Fowler - Admin on -
That's not what my accountant said. I was told you are allowed up to a certain amount every year in charitable donations. Two years ago, it was $500. I don't know what it was last year or this year, which I said previously. You should ask your husband, then how a rescue with no 501 can operate for a year and a half without the 501.
Many rescues collect money to help pay for eye or broken leg surgery, for example, without having a 501(c)3. The rescue I used to be the Vice President of (until just recently), collected over $20,000 in donations and adoption donations in 2009, all without non-profit status. Of course, it was used to pay for vetting, meds, surgeries, transport and foster supplies with all receipts and documentation in case they were audited.
I know of one rescue, who has worked for many years without a 501, in PA. They do great work, have saved many dogs and continue to do so without filling out hundreds of sheets of papers and spend over $1000 to file.
There are many small rescues doing good work without a 501, just like there are many with it who are not so good. Whenever you think of donating money or time to ANY organization, you should check them out, ask questions and then make your decisions.
I am not an accountant, but I donate to many charitable organizations and I don't ask them if they filled out paperwork for my $25 here or $5 there. I pop $5 on chip-ins all the time to help dogs like Peaches on the Main Page. If anyone if worries about their $5 donation, they shouldn't do it.
Charity is not just in cash, it is in time and energy, also. Everyone should base whatever they donate on the value given by the donation and the intention of the people/person asking for it.
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http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc506.html
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p526.pdf
These are official publications of the IRS.
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AdminPermalink Reply by LM Fowler - Admin on -
Thank you so much for your help. I am sure everyone will appreciate it.
Publication 78 uses a coding system to identify each organization listed by type and limitation on deductibility of charitable contributions to the organization. The code(s) displayed depend(s) on the code for which the organization qualifies. In cases where an organization has multiple deductibility codes, only the definition for each applicable deductibility code is displayed.
Code None means:
Many Animal Rescues only have a 50% deductibility limitation, anyway. Are we asking that? Or if a $5 or $25 donation can be put on you taxes?
http://www.irs.gov/app/pub-78/forwardToDeductibilityHelp.do?deducti...
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Member Since 2009Permalink Reply by Teri Sweatman on -
Thanks Sharon, for clarifying all of this. It also should be noted if you donate to an organization in a tax year, and they do not have non-profit status and then they are recognized as non-profit, it is retroactive and you can then take your donation off. I do not donate to only non-profits, but I am not dumb...I always check and why not take off on the taxes if allowable. Heaven know we pay a ton of taxes. All of those 25-50.00 donations add up, and we donate to so many. I take all of the deductions we can get.
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Member Since 2009Permalink Reply by Dr. Judith P. LaVorgna on -
Teri, I formed several 501 c 3's in the past. It always takes longer for those filings than with a for profit business...alot much be checked by the governement who essentially is not going to tax the business. My then accountant told me that when the filing is made and until it is granted I must put either 501c3 filed and pending, or pending IRS approval. That if a donor made a contribution during that wait period the donor could retroactively claim the deduction. I always look for that "filed and pending" on any new charitable organization. It protects both the organization and the donor in the event it is or is not granted in the US. The start up expenses of a not for profit can be fairly high..including attorney, tax, and filing costs...not to mention paperwork and time. By maintaining the pending notation, once granted, that also protects the organization more easily when it goes back to recapture their start up costs and fees. As time has gone by, more and more people have found ways to establish a not for profit...and the government has had equally growing problems with some of them and they way in which they advertise or do business
(not just animal charities), if an individual or group wants that status, then they have to know they are also in their business with the federal and state government.
Any movement to the left or right of the "mission" as outlined, can give pause for an IRS or state agency to call and say, "Hey Hermione, we'd like to talk with you next week!" Not for the faint of heart if you know what I mean. Excellent accounting practices and books available for examination are all ever present in on-going work of the organization. The slightest provocation or dubious "behavior" can cause the government to take away the status after an investigation. It is the only area of the IRS where I have seen the government put several agents on a case and work quickly opposed to long and drawn out conversations and interactions. So pending or filed...and even the date of the filing should, appear on flyers, documents, advertising, etc. It's still "donor beware" during that wait process particularly.
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