[K12OSN] Tax Deductions

Thu Dec 30 19:50:30 UTC 2004

Assigning monetary value puts you in a position where the IRS comes after YOU if there's some sort of donation fraud.  They'll want to know WHY such and such a value was assigned, WHEN you assigned, HOW you came up with that value, etc., ad infinitum, ad nauseum.

When you simply write an official letter stating what was received and from whom, you avoid that possible legal liability.

David H. Barr
Sys / Net Admin
Oklahoma Goodwill Industries
410 SW Third ST
Oklahoma City, OK 73109

Around Thursday, December 30, 2004 1:05 PM,
Ascension Tech (mailto:ascensiontech at gmail.com) wrote:
> How come you don't  assign a monetary value ?
> 
> 
> On Tue, 28 Dec 2004 15:01:36 -0800, Dennis Daniels
> <ddaniels at magic.fr> wrote: 
>> Through the student computer club on campus I've managed to get over
>> 100 computers (PIIs and better!) and a bunch of monitors, mid-range
>> switches, cables etc. The donor gets a letter with the school
>> letter-head thanking them and referencing their donation... no
>> monetary value is assigned. 
>> 
>> hth
>> Dennis
>> 
>> Jim Hays wrote:
>>> When people donate computers to our schools, we simply write a
>>> letter thanking them for the donation.  It is up to the person
>>> making the donation to itemize the donation on their return.  The
>>> letter is verification of the donation. There is not any "red
>>> tape".  
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Quoting Rob Owens <robowens at myway.com>:
>>> 
>>> 
>>>> I'm not an accountant, so don't take my word as gospel...
>>>> 
>>>> I worked w/ a not-for-profit organization that occasionally
>>>> received donations.  For one of the larger donations, the donor
>>>> asked us for a "thank you letter" to him stating what was donated,
>>>> and to include our tax ID number on it. 
>>>> 
>>>> To my knowledge, the recipient of the donation does not have to do
>>>> anything but accept the donation and possibly record it as income.
>>>> It's the donor who needs to claim the deduction on his taxes and
>>>> must be able to back up his claim in case of an audit. 
>>>> 
>>>> -Rob
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> --- On Mon 12/27, Barry Solof < barry at yellowdog.com > wrote:
>>>> From: Barry Solof [mailto: barry at yellowdog.com]
>>>> To: k12osn at redhat.com
>>>> Date: Mon, 27 Dec 2004 12:20:16 -0500
>>>> Subject: [K12OSN] Tax Deductions
>>>> 
>>>> Hi,<br><br>How do you handle contributions made to your school so
>>>> the contributor <br>can get tax credits?<br><br>I've been trying
>>>> to get a local school setup with k12ltsp for about two <br>years. 
>>>> We've found enough old computers, monitors and keyboards for our
>>>> <br>project from a local government agency. We had a little money
>>>> set aside <br>and it looked like we were just about set to go. 
>>>> Then there was a <br>problem with the schools budget and many,
>>>> many things got axed.  The <br>monies for the k12ltsp servers were
>>>> in the cuts.  So we have terminals <br>but no servers.<br><br>I
>>>> can't blame them for the cuts, either. Money is so tight that they
>>>> <br>have to worry about a lot more than computer systems right
>>>> now.  But I'd <br>still like to figure out how to get them started
>>>> with K12ltsp.  It would <br>change their world.<br><br>So it looks
>>>> like we're going to have to go begging for donations of good
>>>> <br>equipment to the school.  I think the only real chance for
>>>> success with <! br>this approach would be to offer tax deductions
>>>> for the contributors. <br>What sort of red tape or accounting is
>>>> required to be able to do this <br>properly?  How do you handle
>>>> contributions?  Have you had any success <br>going out into the
>>>> local private sector to ask for this sort of donations?
>>>> <br><br>Many
>>>> thanks,<br>Barry<br><br>_______________________________________________<br>K12OSN
>>>> mailing
>>>> list<br>K12OSN at redhat.com<br>https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/k12osn<br>For
>>>> more info see <http://www.k12os.org><br>     
>>>> 
>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>> 
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>>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> -----------------------------------------
>>> Jim Hays
>>> Technology Director
>>> Monticello CUSD#25
>>> Monticello, IL  61856
>>> -----------------------------------------
>>> 
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>>> For more info see <http://www.k12os.org>
>>> 
>>> 
>> 
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> 
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