Publication 526
Charitable Contributions
(Revised: 12/2000)

Records To Keep

You must keep records to prove the amount of the cash and noncash contributions you make during the year. The kind of records you must keep depends on the amount of your contributions and whether they are cash or noncash contributions.

Note.   An organization generally must give you a written statement if it receives a payment from you that is more than $75 and is partly a contribution and partly for goods or services. (See Contributions From Which You Benefit under Contributions You Can Deduct, earlier.) Keep the statement for your records. It may satisfy all or part of the recordkeeping requirements explained in the following discussions.

Cash Contributions

Cash contributions include those paid by cash, check, credit card, or payroll deduction. They also include your out-of-pocket expenses when donating your services.

For a contribution made in cash, the records you must keep depend on whether the contribution is:

1. Less than $250, or
2. $250 or more.

Amount of contribution.   In figuring whether your contribution is $250 or more, do not combine separate contributions. For example, if you gave your church $25 each week, your weekly payments do not have to be combined. Each payment is a separate contribution.

If contributions are made by payroll deduction, the deduction from each paycheck is treated as a separate contribution.

If you made a payment that is partly for goods and services, as described earlier under Contributions From Which You Benefit, your contribution is the amount of the payment that is more than the value of the goods and services.

Contributions of Less Than $250

For each cash contribution that is less than $250, you must keep one of the following.

1. A canceled check, or a legible and readable account statement that shows:
   1. If payment was by check - the check number, amount, date posted, and to whom paid,
   2. If payment was by electronic funds transfer - the amount, date posted, and to whom paid, or
   3. If payment was charged to a credit card - the amount, transaction date, and to whom paid.
2. A receipt (or a letter or other written communication) from the charitable organization showing the name of the organization, the date of the contribution, and the amount of the contribution.
3. Other reliable written records that include the information described in (2). Records may be considered reliable if they were made at or near the time of the contribution, were regularly kept by you, or if, in the case of small donations, you have buttons, emblems, or other tokens, that are regularly given to persons making small cash contributions.

Car expenses.    If you claim expenses directly related to use of your car in giving services to a qualified organization, you must keep reliable written records of your expenses. Whether your records are considered reliable depends on all the facts and circumstances. Generally, they may be considered reliable if you made them regularly and at or near the time you had the expenses.

Your records must show the name of the organization you were serving and the date each time you used your car for a charitable purpose. If you use the standard mileage rate, your records must show the miles you drove your car for the charitable purpose. If you deduct your actual expenses, your records must show the costs of operating the car that are directly related to a charitable purpose.

See Car expenses under Out-of-Pocket Expenses in Giving Services, earlier, for the expenses you can deduct.

Contributions of $250 or More

You can claim a deduction for a contribution of $250 or more only if you have an acknowledgement of your contribution from the qualified organization or certain payroll deduction records.

If you made more than one contribution of $250 or more, you must have either a separate acknowledgement for each or one acknowledgement that shows your total contributions.

Acknowledgement.   The acknowledgement must meet these tests.

1. It must be written.
2. It must include:
   1. The amount of cash you contributed,
   2. Whether the qualified organization gave you any goods or services as a result of your contribution (other than certain token items and membership benefits), and
   3. A description and good faith estimate of the value of any goods or services described in (b). If the only benefit you received was an intangible religious benefit (such as admission to a religious ceremony) that generally is not sold in a commercial transaction outside the donative context, the acknowledgement must say so and does not need to describe or estimate the value of the benefit.
3. You must get it on or before the earlier of:
   1. The date you file your return for the year you make the contribution, or
   2. The due date, including extensions, for filing the return.

Payroll deductions.   If you make a contribution by payroll deduction, you do not need an acknowledgement from the qualified organization. But if your employer deducted $250 or more from a single paycheck, you must keep:

1. A pay stub, Form W-2, or other document furnished by your employer that proves the amount withheld, and
2. A pledge card or other document from the qualified organization that states the organization does not provide goods or services in return for any contribution made to it by payroll deduction.

Out-of-pocket expenses.   If you render services to a qualified organization and have unreimbursed out-of-pocket expenses related to those services, you can satisfy the written acknowledgement requirement just discussed if:

1. You have adequate records to prove the amount of the expenses, and
2. By the required date, you get an acknowledgement from the qualified organization that contains:
   1. A description of the services you provided,
   2. A statement of whether or not the organization provided you any goods or services to reimburse you for the expenses you incurred,
   3. A description and a good faith estimate of the value of any goods or services (other than intangible religious benefits) provided to reimburse you, and
   4. A statement of any intangible religious benefits provided to you.

Noncash Contributions

For a contribution not made in cash, the records you must keep depend on whether your deduction for the contribution is:

1. Less than $250,
2. At least $250 but not more than $500,
3. Over $500 but not more than $5,000, or
4. Over $5,000.

Amount of contribution.   In figuring whether your contribution is $250 or more, do not combine separate contributions. If you got goods or services in return, as described earlier in Contributions From Which You Benefit, reduce your contribution by the value of those goods or services. If you figure your deduction by reducing the fair market value of the donated property by its appreciation, as described earlier in Giving Property That Has Increased in Value, your contribution is the reduced amount.

Deductions of Less Than $250

If you make any noncash contribution, you must get and keep a receipt from the charitable organization showing:

1. The name of the charitable organization,
2. The date and location of the charitable contribution, and
3. A reasonably detailed description of the property.

A letter or other written communication from the charitable organization acknowledging receipt of the contribution and containing the information in (1), (2), and (3) will serve as a receipt.

You are not required to have a receipt where it is impractical to get one (for example, if you leave property at a charity's unattended drop site).

Additional records.   You must also keep reliable written records for each item of donated property. Your written records must include the following information.

1. The name and address of the organization to which you contributed.
2. The date and location of the contribution.
3. A description of the property in detail reasonable under the circumstances. For a security, keep the name of the issuer, the type of security, and whether it is regularly traded on a stock exchange or in an over-the-counter market.
4. The fair market value of the property at the time of the contribution and how you figured the fair market value. If it was determined by appraisal, you should also keep a signed copy of the appraisal.
5. The cost or other basis of the property if you must reduce its fair market value by appreciation. Your records should also include the amount of the reduction and how you figured it. If you choose the 50% limit instead of the special 30% limit on certain capital gain property (discussed under Capital gain property election, earlier), you must keep a record showing the years for which you made the choice, contributions for the current year to which the choice applies, and carryovers from preceding years to which the choice applies.
6. The amount you claim as a deduction for the tax year as a result of the contribution, if you contribute less than your entire interest in the property during the tax year. Your records must include the amount you claimed as a deduction in any earlier years for contributions of other interests in this property. They must also include the name and address of each organization to which you contributed the other interests, the place where any such tangible property is located or kept, and the name of any person in possession of the property, other than the organization to which you contributed.
7. The terms of any conditions attached to the gift of property.

Deductions of At Least $250
But Not More Than $500

If you claim a deduction of at least $250 but not more than $500 for a noncash charitable contribution, you must get and keep an acknowledgement of your contribution from the qualified organization. If you made more than one contribution of $250 or more, you must have either a separate acknowledgement for each or one acknowledgement that shows your total contributions.

The acknowledgement must contain the information in items (1) through (3) listed under Deductions of Less Than $250, earlier, and your written records must include the information listed in that discussion under Additional records.

The acknowledgement must also meet these tests.

1. It must be written.
2. It must include:
   1. A description (but not necessarily the value) of any property you contributed,
   2. Whether the qualified organization gave you any goods or services as a result of your contribution (other than certain token items and membership benefits), and
   3. A description and good faith estimate of the value of any goods or services described in (b). If the only benefit you received was an intangible religious benefit (such as admission to a religious ceremony) that generally is not sold in a commercial transaction outside the donative context, the acknowledgement must say so and does not need to describe or estimate the value of the benefit.
3. You must get the acknowledgement on or before the earlier of:
   1. The date you file your return for the year you make the contribution, or
   2. The due date, including extensions, for filing the return.

Deductions Over $500
But Not Over $5,000

If you claim a deduction over $500 but not over $5,000 for a noncash charitable contribution, you must have the acknowledgement and written records described under Deductions of At Least $250 But Not More Than $500. Your records must also include:

1. How you got the property, for example, by purchase, gift, bequest, inheritance, or exchange.
2. The approximate date you got the property or, if created, produced, or manufactured by or for you, the approximate date the property was substantially completed.
3. The cost or other basis, and any adjustments to the basis, of property held less than 12 months and, if available, the cost or other basis of property held 12 months or more. This requirement, however, does not apply to publicly traded securities.

If you are not able to provide information on either the date you got the property or the cost basis of the property and you have a reasonable cause for not being able to provide this information, attach a statement of explanation to your return.

Deductions Over $5,000

If you claim a deduction of over $5,000 for a charitable contribution of one property item or a group of similar property items, you must have the acknowledgement and the written records described under Deductions Over $500 But Not Over $5,000. In figuring whether your deduction is over $5,000, combine your claimed deductions for all similar items donated to any charitable organization during the year.

Generally, you must also obtain a qualified written appraisal of the donated property from a qualified appraiser. See Deductions of More Than $5,000 in Publication 561 for more information.

Qualified conservation contribution.   If the gift was a qualified conservation contribution, your records must also include the fair market value of the underlying property before and after the gift and the conservation purpose furthered by the gift. See Qualified conservation contribution in Publication 561 for more information.

How To Report

Report your charitable contributions on Schedule A of Form 1040.

If you made noncash contributions, you may also be required to fill out parts of Form 8283. See Noncash contributions, later.

Reporting expenses for student living with you.    If you claim amounts paid for a student who lives with you, as described earlier under Expenses Paid for Student Living With You, you must submit with your return:

1. A copy of your agreement with the organization sponsoring the student placed in your household,
2. A summary of the various items you paid to maintain the student, and
3. A statement that gives:
   1. The date the student became a member of your household,
   2. The dates of his or her full-time attendance at school, and
   3. The name and location of the school.

Noncash contributions.   If your total deduction for all noncash contributions for the year is over $500, you must complete Section A of Form 8283, and attach it to your Form 1040. However, do not complete Section A for items you must report on Section B. See Deduction over $5,000 for one item, next, for the items you must report on Section B.

The Internal Revenue Service can disallow your deduction for noncash charitable contributions if it is more than $500 and you do not submit a required Form 8283 with your return.

Deduction over $5,000 for one item.   You must complete Section B of Form 8283 for each item or group of items for which you claim a deduction of over $5,000. (However, if you contributed certain publicly traded securities, complete Section A instead.) In figuring whether your deduction is over $5,000, combine the claimed deductions for all similar items donated to any charitable organization during the year. The organization that received the property must complete and sign Part IV of Section B.

Form 8282.   If an organization, within 2 years after the date of receipt of a contribution of property for which it was required to sign a Form 8283, sells, exchanges, or otherwise disposes of the property, the organization must file an information return with the Internal Revenue Service on Form 8282, Donee Information Return, and send you a copy of the form. However, if you have informed the organization that the appraised value of the donated item, or a specific item within a group of similar items, is $500 or less, the organization is not required to make a report on its sale of that item. For this purpose, all shares of nonpublicly traded stock or securities, or items that form a set, are considered to be one item.

How To Get Tax Help

You can get help with unresolved tax issues, order free publications and forms, ask tax questions, and get more information from the IRS in several ways. By selecting the method that is best for you, you will have quick and easy access to tax help.

Contacting your Taxpayer Advocate.   If you have attempted to deal with an IRS problem unsuccessfully, you should contact your Taxpayer Advocate.

The Taxpayer Advocate represents your interests and concerns within the IRS by protecting your rights and resolving problems that have not been fixed through normal channels. While Taxpayer Advocates cannot change the tax law or make a technical tax decision, they can clear up problems that resulted from previous contacts and ensure that your case is given a complete and impartial review.

To contact your Taxpayer Advocate:

• Call the Taxpayer Advocate at 1-877-777-4778.
• Call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040.
• Call, write, or fax the Taxpayer Advocate office in your area.
• Call 1-800-829-4059 if you are a TTY/TDD user.

For more information, see Publication 1546, The Taxpayer Advocate Service of the IRS.

Free tax services.   To find out what services are available, get Publication 910, Guide to Free Tax Services. It contains a list of free tax publications and an index of tax topics. It also describes other free tax information services, including tax education and assistance programs and a list of TeleTax topics.

Personal computer. With your personal computer and modem, you can access the IRS on the Internet at www.irs.gov. While visiting our web site, you can select:

• Frequently Asked Tax Questions (located under Taxpayer Help & Ed) to find answers to questions you may have.
• Forms & Pubs to download forms and publications or search for forms and publications by topic or keyword.
• Fill-in Forms (located under Forms & Pubs) to enter information while the form is displayed and then print the completed form.
• Tax Info For You to view Internal Revenue Bulletins published in the last few years.
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You can also reach us with your computer using File Transfer Protocol at ftp.irs.gov.

TaxFax Service. Using the phone attached to your fax machine, you can receive forms and instructions by calling 703-368-9694. Follow the directions from the prompts. When you order forms, enter the catalog number for the form you need. The items you request will be faxed to you.

Phone. Many services are available by phone.
 

• Ordering forms, instructions, and publications. Call 1-800-829-3676 to order current and prior year forms, instructions, and publications.
• Asking tax questions. Call the IRS with your tax questions at 1-800-829-1040.
• TTY/TDD equipment. If you have access to TTY/TDD equipment, call 1-800-829- 4059 to ask tax questions or to order forms and publications.
• TeleTax topics. Call 1-800-829-4477 to listen to pre-recorded messages covering various tax topics.

Evaluating the quality of our telephone services. To ensure that IRS representatives give accurate, courteous, and professional answers, we evaluate the quality of our telephone services in several ways.

• A second IRS representative sometimes monitors live telephone calls. That person only evaluates the IRS assistor and does not keep a record of any taxpayer's name or tax identification number.
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Walk-in. You can walk in to many post offices, libraries, and IRS offices to pick up certain forms, instructions, and publications. Also, some libraries and IRS offices have:

• An extensive collection of products available to print from a CD-ROM or photocopy from reproducible proofs.
• The Internal Revenue Code, regulations, Internal Revenue Bulletins, and Cumulative Bulletins available for research purposes.

Mail. You can send your order for forms, instructions, and publications to the Distribution Center nearest to you and receive a response within 10 workdays after your request is received. Find the address that applies to your part of the country.

• Western part of U.S.:
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• Central part of U.S.:
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• Eastern part of U.S. and foreign addresses:
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CD-ROM. You can order IRS Publication 1796, Federal Tax Products on CD-ROM, and obtain:

• Current tax forms, instructions, and publications.
• Prior-year tax forms, instructions, and publications.
• Popular tax forms which may be filled in electronically, printed out for submission, and saved for recordkeeping.
• Internal Revenue Bulletins.

The CD-ROM can be purchased from National Technical Information Service (NTIS) by calling 1-877-233-6767 or on the Internet at www.irs.gov/cdorders. The first release is available in mid-December and the final release is available in late January.

IRS Publication 3207, The Small Business Resource Guide, is an interactive CD-ROM that contains information important to small businesses. It is available in mid-February. You can get one free copy by calling 1-800-829-3676. Table 4 - Blank worksheet for deduction computation

List of Tax Publications and Forms for Individual Taxpayers

List of Tax Publications and Forms for Business Taxpayers