In recent years, there have been some changes made to tax
laws, and it’s important to understand how these changes affect you.
One way in which the changes may have an impact is on any
charitable donations you may have made in the 2019 tax
year.
Percentage Limit
Increase
In years past, the percentage limit of cash contributions
was 50% This year, however, it’s been raised to 60% of your adjusted gross
income, so you can give even more and still deduct it!
Personal Seat Rights
It used to be that you could claim 80% of the cost of
personal seats rights for college sports as a tax deduction. Unfortunately,
that’s no longer allowed. Not only can you not deduct 80%, but you can’t deduct
anything at all. Sorry, sports fans!
Give with Caution
In addition to being aware of recent tax changes, make sure
you are careful about where you donate your time and money.
The IRS will only allow you to deduct donations to qualified
organizations. Plus, you don’t want to get scammed by a non-reputable organization.
Generally, a qualified organization must be a nonprofit
group and meet certain other standards.
Fortunately, the IRS maintains a list
of qualified organizations, which you can and should check before you donate.
Consider the Standard
Deduction
Finally, before you take advantage of deductions for
charitable contributions, make sure you wouldn’t be better off taking the
standard deduction.
For some people, this will be the smarter financial choice.
If you’re not sure what applies in your situation, just check with a tax
professional or simply do the math to determine which one makes more financial
sense.
Remember, it’s always nice to give and to help others. Just
make sure you take the new tax laws into consideration, as well as what’s best
for you.