Publication 526 (2008), Charitable Contributions

What's New

Standard mileage rate increased for Midwestern disaster areas. The standard mileage rate is higher if you used your car to provide relief related to the storms, tornadoes, or flooding in certain Midwestern disaster areas. See Car expenses related to Midwestern disaster areas under Out-of-Pocket Expenses in Giving Services.

Mileage reimbursements related to Midwestern disaster areas. You may not have to pay tax on any mileage reimbursements you received from a charitable organization for the costs of using your car to provide relief related to the storms, tornadoes, or flooding in certain Midwestern disaster areas. See Mileage reimbursements related to Midwestern disaster areas under Out-of-Pocket Expenses in Giving Services.

Temporary suspension of limits. Certain cash contributions you made for relief efforts in a Midwestern disaster area are not subject to the 50% limit or the overall limit on itemized deductions. See Limits on Deductions.

Expiring provisions extended. The following provisions that were due to expire at the end of 2007 have been extended to contributions made in 2008 and 2009.

Special rules for contributions of food inventory. (See Food Inventory under Contributions of Property.)
Special rules for qualified charitable distributions from IRAs. (See Qualified Charitable Distributions under Contributions You Cannot Deduct.)
The special deduction limit for qualified conservation contributions. (See Special 50% Limit for Qualified Conservation Contributions.)

Limit on itemized deductions. For 2008, if your adjusted gross income is more than $159,950 ($79,975 if you are married filing separately), you may have to reduce the amount of certain itemized deductions, including charitable contributions. For more information and a worksheet, see the instructions for Schedule A (Form 1040).

Reminders

Disaster relief. You can deduct contributions for flood relief, hurricane relief, or other disaster relief to a qualified organization (defined under Organizations That Qualify To Receive Deductible Contributions). However, you cannot deduct contributions earmarked for relief of a particular individual or family.

Introduction

This publication explains how to claim a deduction for your charitable contributions. It discusses organizations that are qualified to receive deductible charitable contributions, the types of contributions you can deduct, how much you can deduct, what records to keep, and how to report charitable contributions.

A charitable contribution is a donation or gift to, or for the use of, a qualified organization. It is voluntary and is made without getting, or expecting to get, anything of equal value.

Qualified organizations. Qualified organizations include nonprofit groups that are religious, charitable, educational, scientific, or literary in purpose, or that work to prevent cruelty to children or animals. You will find descriptions of these organizations under Organizations That Qualify To Receive Deductible Contributions.

Form 1040 required. To deduct a charitable contribution, you must file Form 1040 and itemize deductions on Schedule A. The amount of your deduction may be limited if certain rules and limits explained in this publication apply to you.

Comments and suggestions. We welcome your comments about this publication and your suggestions for future editions.

You can write to us at the following address:

Internal Revenue Service
Individual Forms and Publications Branch
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Washington, DC 20224

We respond to many letters by telephone. Therefore, it would be helpful if you would include your daytime phone number, including the area code, in your correspondence.

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Ordering forms and publications. Visit www.irs.gov/formspubs to download forms and publications, call 1-800-829-3676, or write to the address below and receive a response within 10 days after your request is received.

Internal Revenue Service
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Tax questions. If you have a tax question, check the information available on www.irs.gov or call 1-800-829-1040. We cannot answer tax questions sent to either of the above addresses.

Useful Items - You may want to see:

Publication

78 Cumulative List of Organizations
561 Determining the Value of Donated Property
4492-B Information for Affected Taxpayers in the Midwestern Disaster Areas

Form (and Instructions)

Schedule A (Form 1040) Itemized Deductions
8283 Noncash Charitable Contributions

Table 1.Examples of Charitable Contributions—A Quick Check

Use the following lists for a quick check of contributions you can or cannot deduct. See the rest of this publication for more information and additional rules and limits that may apply.

Deductible As Charitable Contributions	Not Deductible As Charitable Contributions
Money or property you give to:	Money or property you give to:
Churches, synagogues, temples, mosques, and other religious organizations Federal, state, and local governments, if your contribution is solely for public purposes (for example, a gift to reduce the public debt) Nonprofit schools and hospitals Public parks and recreation facilities Salvation Army, Red Cross, CARE, Goodwill Industries, United Way, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, etc. War veterans' groups Charitable organizations listed in Publication 78 Expenses paid for a student living with you, sponsored by a qualified organization Out-of-pocket expenses when you serve a qualified organization as a volunteer	Civic leagues, social and sports clubs, labor unions, and chambers of commerce Foreign organizations (except certain Canadian, Israeli, and Mexican charities) Groups that are run for personal profit Groups whose purpose is to lobby for law changes Homeowners' associations Individuals Political groups or candidates for public office
	Cost of raffle, bingo, or lottery tickets Dues, fees, or bills paid to country clubs, lodges, fraternal orders, or similar groups Tuition Value of your time or services Value of blood given to a blood bank

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Publication 526 - Introductory Material

What's New

Reminders

Introduction

Useful Items - You may want to see: