[Finance] Rent as a charitable donation

Lokkju Brennr lokkju at gmail.com
Tue Mar 8 19:24:00 CET 2011


Jeff,  I'm well aware that membership dues are not tax-deductible.  I
was referring to the phase you quoted in your last email:
"3. The part of a contribution from which you receive or expect to
receive a benefit"

donations to upgrade the facility would definitely fall under a
plain-language reading of that clause.

Loki


On Tue, Mar 8, 2011 at 10:19 AM, Jeff Cotten <omegix at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Unfortunately the money you pay to the YMCA for membership and subsequent
> access to the facilities isn't tax deductible.  But because the institution
> is a charity, any donations to them that are not tied to your membership
> (maintaining the facilities) would be tax deductible.
>
> In hackerspace terms, if you were a 501c3 and charged membership dues, the
> dues would not be deductible.
> But any donation to upgrade the facility would be eligible as a tax
> deduction.
>
>
>
>
> On Tue, Mar 8, 2011 at 12:10 PM, Lokkju Brennr <lokkju at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> My understanding is that phrase has a some very specific meanings.
>> Otherwise, it seems overly broad...  just as an example, if I expect
>> to ever use the swimming pool at a YMCA, does that mean I can make a
>> (tax-deductible) contribution towards pool repair?
>>
>> Loki
>>
>> On Tue, Mar 8, 2011 at 10:02 AM, Jeff Cotten <omegix at gmail.com> wrote:
>> >
>> > MrFranceIsBacon found this on page 6 of the same IRS document
>> > http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p526.pdf
>> >
>> > "Contributions you cannot Deduct
>> > [...]
>> > 3. The part of a contribution from which you receive or expect to
>> > receive a
>> > benefit"
>> >
>> > It sounds like that prevents the landlord from donating the amount
>> > you'll be
>> > paying to him.
>> >
>> > Omegix
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > On Tue, Mar 8, 2011 at 10:52 AM, Lokkju Brennr <lokkju at gmail.com> wrote:
>> >>
>> >> Right - but your landlord can legally make a cash donation to the
>> >> charity for the rent amount each month, that you pay back to them as
>> >> rent, as long as money actually changes hands, correct?  i.e., they
>> >> write you a check for tax-deductible contribution of $1000, you write
>> >> them a check for rent of $1000, etc - or is your landlord prevented
>> >> from making tax-deductible contributions?
>> >>
>> >> Loki
>> >>
>> >> On Tue, Mar 8, 2011 at 8:39 AM, Jeff Cotten <omegix at gmail.com> wrote:
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> > Synopsis:  Rent is not a tax-deductible benefit when donated to a
>> >> > 501c3
>> >> > charity.
>> >> >
>> >> > Thank you to MrFranceIsBacon from Makers Local 256 who brought this
>> >> > to
>> >> > our
>> >> > attention.
>> >> > One of the ideas that Makers Local (Huntsville, AL) had when we
>> >> > started
>> >> > was
>> >> > to attain 501c3 charity status,
>> >> > and then convince local building owners to let us set up there
>> >> > rent-free,
>> >> > while they wrote the Fair Market Value (FMV) off
>> >> > as a charitable donation on their taxes.
>> >> >
>> >> > There are tax laws preventing this, it is considered Partial Interest
>> >> > in
>> >> > Property.
>> >> >
>> >> > Ref:  Page 9, Example 1:  http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p526.pdf
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> > I've added an entry on the wiki about this here:
>> >> > http://hackerspaces.org/wiki/Finances#Tax_Laws
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> > Omegix
>> >> > Makers Local 256
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> > _______________________________________________
>> >> > Finance mailing list
>> >> > Finance at lists.hackerspaces.org
>> >> > http://lists.hackerspaces.org/mailman/listinfo/finance
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >
>> >
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>> >
>> >
>
>
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