During Tax Season, Don’t Forget Your Giving

Any website that tells you how to prepare for your taxes and save money is going to mention giving to charities. If you like to do this anyway, you can save on your taxes based on how much you gave. This is not a perfect system in that you do not get exactly as much as you gave; if you gave away $1,000 over the course of the year, do not make the mistake of thinking that you can get $1,000 back in your return. However, you can get a percentage.

Depending on the size of your donation, you may come close to receiving a sizable return. Several charity organizations specialize in taking much more than just money for donations. Some charities will even allow you to donate your boat, which not only assists an excellent cause but will also provide you with a hefty tax return. Additionally, many boat donation organizations have easy-to-use websites that make the process very easy. It is certainly worth looking into this new form of donation, especially if you have any valuable items in or around the house that you no longer use.

If you are filing your taxes with a computer software program or an online system, there should be a separate tab for charitable donations. You should specify what place you gave the money to and how much you gave away. You can lump things together if you want, if you have donated to more than one place, but it is often better to put them in individually so that you can review it and make sure that you did not miss or overlook anything.

As you do this, make sure that you have paperwork from the places that you gave money to so that you can prove to the IRS that you really did give away the money if they decide to audit you. Some people try to use this as a way to scam the government, so they are very careful to check everything. As long as you have the records, though, you shouldn’t worry at all.