Save Those Receipts - New Rules for Charities

EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY, January 1, 2007, a receipt is required for ANY AND ALL charitable contributions in order to take a tax deduction. In most cases, this is not an issue. However, it is definitely more paperwork.

In the past, you were allowed to estimate a reasonable amount for charitable contributions, including those donated in cash. So, many people were in the habit of saying they gave the same amount as last year, or they typically put $10 a week in the collection basket at church.

The other place where this deduction was abused (although, not by MY clients) was that many people took "the standard charitable contribution." Such a standard deduction never existed. The misconception on this deduction arose from the statistics published by the IRS over the years. From time to time, the IRS conducts very detailed audit programs in which the taxpayers are required to produce a receipt for every line item. Believe me - you do not want to be selected for this type of audit. In some cases, they have even had to produce birth certificates. These audits are used to accumulate these statistics. So, for example, there may be pattern that says the average person who has an income of $100,000 gives $2,000 a year to charitable organizations. Many people have misinterpreted these numbers to assume that they were entitled to these deductions as long as they were within the "limits." The change in the law is designed to prevent that interpretation.

NOW, the rule has been changed. In order to obtain a deduction, only two types of proof are allowable to substantiate the deduction:

a) a bank record OR
b) an acknowledgement from the organization receiving the gift indicating the name of the donee organization, the date of the contribution, and the amount of the contribution.

No alternative records will be allowed to substantiate the contribution under the new rules.

The picture above is a stained glass window inside the Notre Dame de Reims Cathedral in Reims, France. Many of the kings and queens of France have been crowned in this church. Reims is also the home of the famous champagne caves.

Sugar Bowl - Go Irish!!! Beat LSU!!!!

Here come the Irish!!!!! Here come the Irish!!!!!!!!

Watch the Irish clobber (I hope) LSU tonight in the Sugar Bowl!!!!!!! The game will be played in New Orleans in the Superdome and will be televised on WTTG-5 beginning at 8 pm.

Changes, Changes, Changes

It seems that there is never an end in sight to the tax law changes. This is a book from only one of the update classes I took recently to keep current. This class covered only the updates and not the basics. As you can see, all of the pages are single spaced type on both sides of the page. I will provide updates on changes that impact a large number of people, especially now that we are into January, and everyone will be starting to think about taxes a little more each day.

A Warm Ending

As we returned to our car, a Red Cross volunteer practically tackled us and invited us over to have a cup of hot chocolate. This was another pleasant surprise. A Red Cross staff member snapped our picture and chatted with us for quite a while. When we told him that we had met Jack Ford, the president's son, his response was simply, "Well, that's the Ford family for you."

Flag at Half Staff

It took quite a while to get the right angle and the wind blowing in the right direction, but here is a shot of the flag flying at half staff over the Capitol as we mourn the passing of President Gerald R. Ford.

The Crowd Signing the Books

After we signed the book of condolences, we stayed for a while taking a few more pictures. As you can see, sometimes the table got very crowded. As we wandered through the crowd, I heard someone discussing some politics in depth. I thought he might be a good choice to ask who the woman was who was standing next to Jack Ford. He said he never saw Jack Ford or any other one else there from the family. Apparently, our timing was just right. This guy was only a few minutes behind us in line. Someone later told me that no presidential family members have come out to receive the public for these events in over 30 years!!!!

Signing the Book

As we headed out of the building, we were invited to sign the book of condolences for the family. Most people just signed their name, city and date, but my friend and I took a few extra lines and each wrote a note. We even took pictures of our notes!!!

Entering the Capitol

We waited and waited and went through the security clearance. After only 57 minutes, we were actually at the door to the Capitol. It probably took us an extra 10 minutes, because we took so many pictures along the way!

As we approached the door, a woman gave us the commemorative card as shown above. We then proceeded to the bottom of the 33 steps to climb up to the rotunda to see the casket. As we approached the bottom of the steps, the staff asked everyone to lower their voices and keep quiet.

As we got to the top of the steps, the first thing you could see was a room full of reporters and cameras. It was packed. They were covering every angle. There were even cameras aimed at us. The line slowed up a little. Then a man reached out to shake my hand, and there was a camera in my face. He said, "Hi, I'm Jack Ford, and I'm here to welcome you on behalf of the family." I was so shocked, I did not even know what to say. I had no idea that there would be any family members there. I think my mouth probably just dropped open. I did say that I remember him(Jack) coming to speak at my college. Then, a couple of feet away was a woman who reached out and shook my hand. She was clearly a family member, but I did not know who she was.

We then proceeded to pass slowly by the casket in silence. It was an incredible experience.

We then turned to go out. Just then we saw Bob Dole carrying on a conversation with someone. I know I was surprised to see someone there that I actually recognized. I think we both must have stared at him too long, because he turned and gave us a big smile and waved to us. My friend concluded that I was the one attracting the attention here, since I was bundled up like an Eskimo in our mild 50 degree weather!!!

View of the Capitol with the Line Across the Front

This is a view of the Capitol with the the crowd across the front steps and headed inside the building. If you double click on the picure, it will be large enough to see all of the fine details.

The Waiting Begins

After proceeding a few yards across the street, we got in line to begin the wait. We kept walking and walking and walking. This line was looking pretty good!!! It felt like we were pretty close.

The Journey Begins

As we set out to see President Ford laid out in the Capitol, we had no idea what to expect. My friend had waited in line for 3 hours in near 100 degree heat to see President Reagan. She was at the very beginning of the line that day. So, I figured I had a pro with me. We did not leave early Sunday morning, so we had no idea how long this entire process would take.

When we arrived in the vicinity of the Capitol, we headed to the parking lot where my friend has a pass for parking available on a 24/7 basis. It was locked up tight. We decided to try our luck on the street. Between the two of us, we normally have very good luck getting parking spaces, so we figured with both of us in the car at once, we were sure to get a great spot. Sure enough, as soon as we said that we spotted someone folding up a stroller into a car. The spot was at 3rd Street and Independence Avenue, SW. We took a look around, and concluded that we got the CLOSEST LEGAL parking spot to the entrance for the viewing. As we pulled into the spot, the sun came out, and we knew that the rest of the day would go smoothly.

We were so excited about our great parking spot that we took pictures, since we were sure no one would believe us. I just noticed from the picture above that we were given the green light.


We then proceeded to figure out which necessities we should take with us and which to leave in the car. We did not know if we should bring something to sit on, and who knows what would happen with the weather. I did, however, proceed to put on 5 layers of clothing even though it was as warm as I have ever seen January. Since there were some people running around in shorts, I probably looked like an Eskimo in Florida - a sight to be sure!!!

RIP President Gerald R. Ford

Yesterday, I had the rare opportunity to go downtown with a friend to say goodbye to a former President. We went down for the viewing of Gerald R. Ford, the 38th President.

As most of my friends were in college while Ford was president, we were not really tuned in to what was going on in the "real world" at that time. We typically caught up on the world news by tuning in to Saturday Night Live in those early days and watched Chevy Chase as he stumbled across the stage doing his weekly imitation of President Ford.

My college classmates and I also have another interesting recollection of President Ford. We attended St. Mary's College in Notre Dame, Indiana. President Ford was invited to speak at Notre Dame on the morning of March 17, 1975.

As you know, March 17 is St. Patrick's Day. Given the school nickname for Notre Dame is the Fighting Irish, you can imagine the parties that weekend. In addition, this particular year, St. Patrick's Day fell on a Friday, and Spring Break started at the end of classes that afternoon. We were excused from classes that morning to hear President Ford speak. I was only a freshman, so we more or less followed the rules at that point, but many of the older students were filling the bars by 7:00 am that morning.

We finally got over to Notre Dame for the speech, and we got great seats. I still remember the beginning of President Ford's speech. He really did his homework and made an effort to relate to the students. For a little background here, the drinking age in South Bend, Indiana was 21 at that time. South Bend is located 2 miles south of the Michigan border. The drinking age in Michigan was 18. There were quite a few bars located just across the border in Michigan that were frequented by the St. Mary's and Notre Dame students. However, there were generally problems getting transportation up to Michigan, since most of the students did not have cars. Even if there were cars available, then there were the usual drinking and driving issues. In order to alleviate this transportation dilemma, Notre Dame and St. Mary's ran a bus each weekend whose sole purpose was to pick up the students on the two campuses and drop them off at the bars. When the fun was over, the students would once again hop on the bus for a safe ride home. This bus was known as the "Quickie."

Anyway, President Ford started his speech by noting the different methods of transportation in the various communities. He said, "...some communities have the monorail, some communities have the subway, and Notre Dame has the Quickie." The audience roared, and he had our attention.

Another interesting piece of history occurred in conjunction with President Ford's visit. The combination of St. Patrick's Day on the Friday preceding Spring Break and President Ford's speech resulted in an unprecedented party in South Bend that weekend. To this day, when the the proposed academic calendar is issued showing school in session for St. Mary's and Notre Dame, the town residents put up a protest. So, the day that President Ford spoke was the last time that Notre Dame and St. Mary's were in session on St. Patrick's Day. Somehow, Spring Break always fall the week of March 17!!!!

The other unique thing about President Ford for me is that, as far as I know, he is about the only president in recent history that I can remember who did not sign a major piece of tax legislation that I have to deal with on a daily basis. Most of the other presidents have kindly provided us with an annual update to the "Tax Accountants Full Employment Act."

I thought I would share the adventure my friend and I had yesterday. We may have some pictures that are a little different than the ones you have seen hour after hour on TV. Since I am learning the ropes on publishing this blog, I am going to do this story in several posts so I can get a number of pictures included. Please bear with me as I try and figure out how all of this works and getting the pictures published, etc. I hope you enjoy our story.

The picture above is one of those posted right outside the Capitol included in the official exhibit.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!

Wishing all of my readers (all 3 of them!) a very healthy, happy, successful and fun filled New Year.