| Grex > Coop11 > #73: tax deductibility of dues. |
| response 25 of 115: | 
Feb 5 01:42 UTC 1999 |
Mark should be allowed to handle sending out receipts in whatever way he finds easiest, especially if the postage costs are reasonable. I don't see where a $75 cutoff necessarily makes sense. The IRS defines a $250 cutoff.
| response 26 of 115: |
Feb 5 02:02 UTC 1999 |
Membership costs $60/year if paid annually, $72/year if paid monthly. The idea was almost certainly to send receipts only to those donating above & beyond normal membership.
| response 27 of 115: |
Feb 5 03:22 UTC 1999 |
Right, that was the idea.
| response 28 of 115: |
Feb 5 04:08 UTC 1999 |
Let the treasurer send out receipts without imposing new, special rules made up by one user. If Sindi wants to put this to a membership vote, then she can start the procedure. Otherwise, until the membership decides, just keep doing whatever the current procedure is.
| response 29 of 115: |
Feb 5 04:37 UTC 1999 |
I am not imposing rules, just suggesting that the present ones be modified so as not to send receipts out to people who do not request them. IF the board could vote to have a $75 cutoff, they could just as well vote for a $250 cutoff, with email receipts to be sent to anyone who donates over $249, and paper receipts upon request (asking donors in the email receipt if they want a paper receipt). What is the point in having a paper tax receipt when the IRS does not even require one? Anyone else who requested a paper receipt could also have one. This would save paper, postage, and time.
| response 30 of 115: |
Feb 5 05:17 UTC 1999 |
(I'm extremely jealous of anybody whose biggest problem is a single, unwanted, piece of paper)
| response 31 of 115: |
Feb 5 14:58 UTC 1999 |
Yeah, I admire your motives, Sindi, but I can't help but think there must be bigger fish to fry. For starters, Grex easily gets more than 23 pieces of junk mail sent to our box each year, since we're listed in the Internic database by virtue of having a domain name. How about working on getting those stopped?
| response 32 of 115: |
Feb 6 00:43 UTC 1999 |
Re #26: I don't understand, though, why it makes any sense to send receipts for donations above and beyond membership. Perhaps someone could explain? Is there some common reason to want receipts other than for tax deductions?
| response 33 of 115: |
Feb 6 02:20 UTC 1999 |
People who just paid $60/year (or $72/year) for membership won't get receipts unless they ask for them; I think that's what Walter was saying in #26. Quite a few people donate money above and beyond regular membership dues, however. Most of the people who donated $75 or more in '98 were members who also sent in money for the Spare Parts Fund. That pushed their total over $75. Does that answer your question Joel?
| response 34 of 115: |
Feb 6 02:43 UTC 1999 |
I think Joel's question was why send receipts at all to people were not planning to itemize deductions. At a recent board meeting (second to last) someone mentioned that a woman who specialized in giving advice to nonprofits thought that all nonprofits should send receipts for all donations, and the $75 was a compromise. But since the IRS does not require receipts for under $250, and since most people do not itemize, I don't see the point. If anyone wants, I can check with a few nonprofits on their policy. I don't ever recall getting receipts for amounts under $200 before. The woman in question was used to advising organizations whose primarly function was to collect donations. I would be happy to attempt to stop the flood of junk mail to grex, if someone will give me the list of senders of the junk mail. (I have been trying for many years to get off a few very stubborn mailing lists myself, and two of them persist in sending me double copies.)
| response 35 of 115: |
Feb 6 02:52 UTC 1999 |
We might be an example of why some folks would like receipts for smaller amounts, like $60. We give to a number of non-profits, like Kerrytown Concert House. In total, they all add up to a good chunk of money, and I'd like to be able to have clear proof of that deduction, even though each one is under the $250 threshold. Actually, Kerrytown Concert House is a good example of a 501(c)3 which sends a "thank you" receipt with each donation whether it be a fundraiser where we send $40 or $50 or founder's dues each spring. I like getting this mail. Makes my heart sing. ;-)
| response 36 of 115: |
Feb 6 05:51 UTC 1999 |
The MKC sends a receipt and thank you letter for any donation - even for a buck. It is public relations. They do not send receipts for dues payments, however, except for the initial dues starting a membership (because a 'membership package' is send anyway).
| response 37 of 115: |
Feb 6 05:56 UTC 1999 |
The receipt & a nice "thank you" sound eminently courteous &
certainly more professional..
Keep it up.
| response 38 of 115: |
Feb 6 15:33 UTC 1999 |
Are MKC memberships considered tax deductable?
| response 39 of 115: |
Feb 6 18:36 UTC 1999 |
(Just to clarify: I do send thank you notes by e-mail for every payment we receive.)
| response 40 of 115: |
Feb 6 19:13 UTC 1999 |
re: 39 -
Yeah, I sort of thought that was what I'd read/inferred.
| response 41 of 115: |
Feb 6 20:53 UTC 1999 |
MKC memberships are fully tax deductible. Want to join? 8^}
| response 42 of 115: |
Feb 8 20:46 UTC 1999 |
Regarding resp:8 Whine whine. Bark! Bark! Woof.
| response 43 of 115: |
Feb 8 20:56 UTC 1999 |
Regarding resp:42 I think she means that she doesn't slobber that much. She'd be happy to help out but she's not sure she understands how to lick the envelopes without actually chewing on them.
| response 44 of 115: |
Feb 9 01:21 UTC 1999 |
LOL!
| response 45 of 115: |
Feb 11 02:03 UTC 1999 |
As a large donor to the auction can I get a receipt of donation for the (auction-determined) fair market value of what I donated? I wonder how many month's rent I raised.
| response 46 of 115: |
Feb 11 03:09 UTC 1999 |
The total Grex has received for Tim's donations is $255.00, and another $88.50 is still (hopefully) on its way.
| response 47 of 115: |
Feb 11 04:04 UTC 1999 |
I have not the slightest objection to sending paper receipts to anyone who asks for them (after an emailed offer of a receipt). But even people who itemize do not need the receipts for amounts under $250. I made a few calls to other nonprofits. WUOM has to follow university policy so sends receipts to everyone. (Whether or not you itemize on federal taxes, you can deduct contributions to educational inst. or libraries on the state taxes). Easter Seals sends receipts for donations of $100 or more, and for lesser amounts on request. They knew of no law requiring them to send receipts. American Cancer Society sends receipts for all donations, they did not know why and told me to call National Charities Bureau at 1 800 501 6242. I left a message. Mark, were the four people who wanted receipts those who donated over $74? Or over $249? I appreciate that some people like finding pieces of paper in their mailbox even when email would do. But there are also those of us who get upset at finding unwanted and irrelevant pieces of paper there, so I think it would be considerate to give people a choice. Jim said he watched while someone at Bivouac got offended at being asked whether they wanted a bag for a jackknife purchase. I get offended when they try to stick a bag around my purcahse without asking my permission first. The guy at Bivouac told Jim that the customer must have been from Detroit, where they expect bags instead of being asked first. Mark might stick at the end of his thank you emails a statement to the effect that paper receipts are available to anyone who emails back requesting one, but that they are not being sent out automatically to save resources (paper, postage, time) which could better be used to support grex's activities. (Jim's suggestion).
| response 48 of 115: |
Feb 11 05:43 UTC 1999 |
Re #45, #46: I was under the impression that if you donate to the auction, you can deduct whatever you think the fair market value is when neither the seller nor buyer is under any obligation to complete the transation. But grex essentially has to sell the items, which you might argue will mean that they may be sold for less than they're worth, and so I believe you can take a bigger deduction than that. I think that people who buy from the auction cannot take a deduction unless they pay more than the fair market price. If they do pay more than the fair market price, the buyer can deduct the amount beyond the fair market price, and the donor can deduct the fair market price, and *the two must agree on what the fair market price is*.
| response 49 of 115: |
Feb 11 06:43 UTC 1999 |
I'd hate to argue that one with the IRS. It should be a pretty obvious difference between the value of an item and the amount bid. For example, high bids for Grex memorabilia (e.g, its (dead) first hard drive), would be deductible in entirety.