The IRS has issued an updated guide for donors and charities, spelling out the contribution deduction rules. Publication 1771 — with the not-so-jazzy title “Charitable Contributions, Substantiation and Disclosure Requirements” — provides a solid, plain-language statement of the recordkeeping, proof and disclosure rules. A must-have for every any donor who wishes to deduct donations on his or her Federal income tax return, for any organization that accepts donations, and for anyone who prepares tax returns for others. The price is right for this 16-pager: you can download it and print it out for free from the IRS website. IRS Publication 1771 (PDF)
The IRS has issued Summertime Tax Tip 2010-21 which includes ten tips for taxpayers making charitable donations and provides links to related IRS publications. http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=172936,00.html
IRS Publication 526, Charitable Contributions, and for information on determining value, refer to Publication 561, Determining the Value of Donated Property. http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p561.pdf
Vaughn – I think people often avoid looking at what the IRS has written — perhaps because folks hate tax returns. But the IRS has done a pretty good job writing some understandable guides in the charity area. Ed