Information Provided to Donors(p14)

In some situations, a donor must obtain certain information from a donee organization to obtain a deduction for a charitable contribution. In other situations, the donee organization is required to provide information to the donor. For example, a charitable organization must give a donor a disclosure statement for a quid pro quo contribution over $75. A donor cannot deduct a charitable contribution of $250 or more unless the donor has a written acknowledgment from the charitable organization.

In certain circumstances, an organization may be able to meet both of these requirements with the same written document.

A charitable organization must provide a written disclosure statement to donors of a quid pro quo contribution over $75.

This is a payment a donor makes to a charity partly as a contribution and partly for goods or services. For example, if a donor gives a charity $100 and receives a concert ticket valued at $40, the donor has made a quid pro quo contribution. In this example, the charitable contribution part of the payment is $60. Even though the deductible part of the payment is not more than $75, a disclosure statement must be filed because the donor's payment (quid pro quo contribution) is more than $75.

The required written disclosure statement must:

1. Inform the donor that the amount of the contribution that is deductible for federal income tax purposes is limited to the excess of any money (and the value of any property other than money) contributed by the donor over the fair market value of goods or services provided by the charity, and
2. Provide the donor with a good faith estimate of the fair market value of the goods or services that the donor received.

The charity must furnish the statement in connection with either the solicitation or the receipt of the quid pro quo contribution. If the disclosure statement is furnished in connection with a particular solicitation, it is not necessary for the organization to provide another statement when it actually receives the contribution.

No disclosure statement is required if any of the following are true.

1. The goods or services given to a donor have insubstantial value as described in Revenue Procedure 90-12, 1990-1 C.B. 471, and Revenue Procedure 92-49, 1992-1 C.B. 507 (as adjusted for inflation).
2. There is no donative element involved in a particular transaction with a charity (for example, there is generally no donative element involved in a visitor's purchase from a museum gift shop).
3. There is only an intangible religious benefit provided to the donor. The intangible religious benefit must be provided to the donor by an organization organized exclusively for religious purposes, and must be of a type that generally is not sold in a commercial transaction outside the donative context. For example, a donor who, for a payment, is granted admission to a religious ceremony for which there is no admission charge is provided an intangible religious benefit. A donor is not provided intangible religious benefits for payments made for tuition for education leading to a recognized degree, travel services, or consumer goods.
4. The donor makes a payment of $75 or less per year and receives only annual membership benefits that consist of:
   1. Any rights or privileges (other than the right to purchase tickets for college athletic events) that the taxpayer can exercise often during the membership period, such as free or discounted admissions or parking or preferred access to goods or services, or
   2. Admission to events that are open only to members and the cost per person of which is within the limits for low-cost articles described in Revenue Procedure 90-12 (as adjusted for inflation).

An organization can use any reasonable method to estimate the FMV of goods or services it provided to a donor, as long as it applies the method in good faith.

The organization can estimate the FMV of goods or services that generally are not commercially available by using the FMV of similar or comparable goods or services. Goods or services may be similar or comparable even if they do not have the unique qualities of the goods or services being valued.

A charity provides a 1-hour tennis lesson with a tennis professional for the first $500 payment it receives. The tennis professional provides 1-hour lessons on a commercial basis for $100. A good faith estimate of the lesson's FMV is $100.

For a payment of $50,000, a museum allows a donor to hold a private event in a room of the museum. A good faith estimate of the FMV of the right to hold the event in the museum can be made by using the cost of renting a hotel ballroom with a capacity, amenities, and atmosphere comparable to the museum room, even though the hotel ballroom lacks the unique art displayed in the museum room. If the hotel ballroom rents for $2,500, a good faith estimate of the FMV of the right to hold the event in the museum is $2,500.

For a payment of $1,000, a charity provides an evening tour of a museum conducted by a well-known artist. The artist does not provide tours on a commercial basis. Tours of the museum normally are free to the public. A good faith estimate of the FMV of the evening museum tour is $0 even though it is conducted by the artist.

A penalty is imposed on a charity that does not make the required disclosure of a quid pro quo contribution of more than $75. The penalty is $10 per contribution, not to exceed $5,000 per fundraising event or mailing. The charity can avoid the penalty if it can show that the failure was due to reasonable cause.

A donor can deduct a charitable contribution of $250 or more only if the donor has a written acknowledgment from the charitable organization. The donor must get the acknowledgment by the earlier of:

1. The date the donor files the original return for the year the contribution is made, or
2. The due date, including extensions, for filing the return.

The donor is responsible for requesting and obtaining the written acknowledgment from the donee. A charitable organization that receives a payment made as a contribution is treated as the donee organization for this purpose even if the organization (according to the donor's instructions or otherwise) distributes the amount received to one or more charities.

If the donee provides goods or services to the donor in exchange for the contribution (a quid pro quo contribution), the acknowledgment must include a good faith estimate of the value of the goods or services. See Disclosure of Quid Pro Quo Contributions, earlier.

Although there is no prescribed format for the written acknowledgment, it must provide enough information to substantiate the amount of the contribution. For more information, get IRS Publication 1771, Charitable Contributions – Substantiation and Disclosure Requirements.

To deduct a contribution of cash, a check, or other monetary gift (regardless of the amount), a donor must maintain a bank record or a written communication from the donee organization showing the donee's name, date, and amount of the contribution. In the case of a lump-sum contribution (rather than a contribution by payroll deduction) made through the Combined Federal Campaign or a similar program such as a United Way Campaign, the written communication must include the name of the donee organization that is the ultimate recipient of the charitable contribution.

An organization may substantiate an employee's contribution by deduction from its payroll by:

• A pay stub, Form W-2, or other document showing a contribution to a donee organization, together with
• A pledge card or other document from the donee organization that shows its name.

For contributions of $250 or more, the document must state that the donee organization provides no goods or services for any payroll contributions. The amount withheld from each payment of wages to a taxpayer is treated as a separate contribution.

If an exempt organization receives a contribution of a qualified vehicle with a claimed value of more than $500, the donee organization is required to provide a contemporaneous written acknowledgment to the donor. The donee organization can use a completed Form 1098-C, Contributions of Motor Vehicles, Boats, and Airplanes, for the contemporaneous written acknowledgment. See section 3.03 of Notice 2005-44 for guidance on the information that must be included in a contemporaneous written acknowledgment and the deadline for furnishing the acknowledgment to the donor.

Any donee organization that provides a contemporaneous written acknowledgment to a donor is required to report to the IRS the information contained in the acknowledgment. The report is due by February 28 (March 31 if filing electronically) of the year following the year in which the donee organization provides the acknowledgment to the donor. The organization must file the report on Copy A of Form 1098-C.

An organization that files Form 1098-C on paper should send it with Form 1096, Annual Summary and Transmittal of U.S. Information Returns. See the Instructions for Form 1096 for the correct filing location.

An organization that is required to file 250 or more Forms 1098-C during the calendar year must file the forms electronically or magnetically. Specifications for filing Form 1098-C electronically or magnetically can be found in Publication 1220, Specifications for Filing Forms 1097-BTC, 1098, 1099, 3921, 3922, 5498, 8935, and W-2G Electronically at www.IRS.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p1220.pdf.

Generally, the organization should complete Form 1098-C as the written acknowledgment to the donor and the IRS. The contents of the acknowledgment depend upon whether the organization:

• Sells a qualified vehicle without any significant intervening use or material improvement,
• Intends to make a significant intervening use of or material improvement to a qualified vehicle prior to sale, or
• Sells a qualified vehicle to a needy individual at a price significantly below fair market value, or a gratuitous transfer to a needy individual in direct furtherance of a charitable purpose of the organization of relieving the poor and distressed or the underprivileged who are in need of a means of transportation.

For more information on the acknowledgment, see Notice 2005-44, 2005-25 I.R.B. 1287 at www.IRS.gov/pub/irs-irbs/irb05-25.pdf.

To constitute significant intervening use, the organization must actually use the vehicle to substantially further the organization's regularly conducted activities, and the use must be significant, not incidental. Factors in determining whether a use is a significant intervening use depend on its nature, extent, frequency, and duration. For this purpose, use includes providing transportation on a regular basis for a significant period of time or significant use directly related to training in vehicle repair. Use does not include the use of a vehicle to provide training in business skills, such as marketing or sales. Examples of significant use include:

• Driving a vehicle every day for 1 year to deliver meals to needy individuals, if delivering meals is an activity regularly conducted by the organization.
• Driving a vehicle for 10,000 miles over a 1-year period to deliver meals to needy individuals, if delivering meals is an activity regularly conducted by the organization.

Material improvements include major repairs and additions that improve the condition of the vehicle in a manner that significantly increases the value. To be a material improvement, the improvement cannot be funded by an additional payment to the organization from the donor of the vehicle. Material improvements do not include cleaning, minor repairs, routine maintenance, painting, removal of dents or scratches, cleaning or repair of upholstery, and installation of theft deterrent devices.

Section 6720 imposes penalties on any organization that is required under section 170(f)(12) to furnish an acknowledgment to a donor if the organization knowingly:

• Furnishes a false or fraudulent acknowledgment, or
• Fails to furnish an acknowledgment in the manner, at the time, and showing the information required by section 170(f)(12).

An acknowledgment containing a certification will be presumed to be false or fraudulent if the qualified vehicle is sold to a buyer other than a needy individual without a significant intervening use or material improvement within 6 months of the date of the contribution.

If a charity sells a donated vehicle at auction, the IRS will not accept as substantiation an acknowledgment from the charity stating that the vehicle is to be transferred to a needy individual for significantly below fair market value. Vehicles sold at auction are not sold at prices significantly below fair market value, and the IRS will not treat vehicles sold at auction as qualifying for this exception.

The penalty for a false or fraudulent acknowledgment where the donee certifies that the vehicle will not be transferred for money, other property, or services before completion of material improvements or significant intervening use or the donee certifies that the vehicle is to be transferred to a needy individual for significantly below fair market value in furtherance of the donee's charitable purpose is the larger of $5,000 or the claimed value of the vehicle multiplied by 39.6%.

The penalty for an acknowledgment relating to a qualified vehicle being sold in an arm's length transaction to an unrelated party is the larger of the gross proceeds from the sale or the sales price stated in the acknowledgment multiplied by 39.6%.

A taxpayer who contributes qualified intellectual property to a charity may be entitled to a charitable deduction, in addition to any initial deduction allowed in the year of contribution. The additional deduction is based on a specified percentage of the qualified donee income with respect to the qualified intellectual property. To qualify for the additional charitable deduction, the donor must provide notice to the donee at the time of the contribution that the donor intends to treat the contribution as qualified intellectual property contribution for purposes of sections 170(m) and 6050L.

Every donee organization described in section 170(c) (except private foundation as defined in section 509(a) that is not described in section 170(b)(1)(F)) that receives or accrues net income from a charitable gift of qualified intellectual property must file Form 8899.

Form 8899, Notice of Income From Donated Intellectual Property, is used by a donee to report net income from qualified intellectual property to the donor of the property and to the IRS and is due by the last day of the first full month following the close of the donee’s tax year. This form must be filed for each tax year of the donee in which the donated property produces net income, but only if all or part of that tax year occurs during the 10-year period beginning on the date of the contribution and that tax year does not begin after the expiration of the legal life of the donated property.

Qualified donee income is any net income received by or accrued to the donee that is properly allocable to the qualified intellectual property for the tax year of the donee which ends within or with the tax year of the donor. Income is not treated as allocated to qualified intellectual property if it is received or accrued after the earlier of the expiration of the legal life of the qualified intellectual property, or the 10-year period beginning with the date of the contribution.

Qualified intellectual property is generally any patent, copyright, trademark, trade name, trade secret, know-how, software or similar property, or applications or registrations of such property (other than property contributed to or for the use of a private foundation as defined in section 509(a) that is not described in section 170(b)(1)(F)). See Exceptions below.

The following property is not considered qualified intellectual property for purposes of the additional charitable deduction:

1. Computer software that is readily available for purchase by the general public, is subject to a nonexclusive license, and has not been substantially modified.
2. A copyright held by a taxpayer:

• Whose personal efforts created the property, or
• In whose hands the basis of the property is determined, for purposes of determining gain from a sale or exchange, in whole or in part by reference to the basis of the property in the hands of a taxpayer whose personal efforts created the property.