Verify that letters you receive from churches and other nonprofit organizations have the proper language stating that “no goods or services were provided in consideration for donation”.
Court Case: Taxpayers deducted $25,171 in charitable contributions, most of which were made by check to their church. Their records included canceled checks along with an acknowledgement letter from the church. The IRS rejected the letter because it did not contain a statement regarding whether goods or services were provided in consideration for donations. A second letter containing the required language was rejected because it did not satisfy the contemporaneous requirement. To be contemporaneous the written acknowledgment must generally be obtained by the donor no later than the date the donor files the return for the year the contribution is made.
The Tax Court agreed with the IRS and the taxpayers’ deduction for the contributions was disallowed. (Durden, T.C. Memo 2012-140)