Charitable Giving Information

Almost as long as the U.S. Constitution has permitted the taxation of income, Congress has provided some form of relief for taxpayers who make charitable contributions. An often-stated reason for such tax relief is to encourage the provision of social services by private charities. While the concept of providing a tax deduction for charitable contributions is simple, the rules are complex; applying these rules on a day-to-day basis thus presents a number of challenges. The Charitable Giving Answer Book meets these challenges by tackling a host of both common and hot and emerging issues. It provides quick answers to tough planning and compliance questions that frequently challenge practitioners whether they are estate planners, consultants to philanthropists, or those who manage and consult charitable organizations. The practitioner-preferred format in the Answer Book saves time for the busy professional. To help facilitate fast and effective research on complicated questions that need extra attention, citations are included to federal statutes, regulations, rulings, and cases that control whether a particular charitable contribution is deductible, nondeductible, or only partially deductible. Highlights of the 2009 edition include: * Updated information regarding legislation contained in the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA) and Katrina Emergency Tax Relief Act (KETRA) * How the IRS is treating political activity within charitable organizations * A discussion regarding participation in prohibited tax shelter transactions and required disclosures * Temporarily suspended charitable deduction limitations (§1400S) * Updated model trust forms for Charitable Remainder Trusts * What is a charitable contribution? * What are the various limitations on deductibility of charitable contributions, both for individual and corporate taxpayers? * How are contributions of different types of property treated? * Is a taxpayer entitled to a deduction if he or she receives a benefit in exchange for a payment to charity? * How must a charitable trust be structured to ensure that the donor (grantor) is entitled to a deduction? * How can a donor obtain a tax deduction for making a contribution of a conservation easement? * * * Includes a discussion of case law pertaining to easements * Can a donor make a contribution and still retain control over how the funds will ultimately be used? * Updated information regarding supporting organizations and donor-advised funds * How must charitable contributions be documented? Includes a discussion of newly enacted substantiation requirements

About the Author

Catherine W. Wilkinson is a certified public accountant, practicing in the tax group of the Washington, D.C.-based law firm of Steptoe & Johnson LLP. Ms. Wilkinson received her MBA in accounting and taxation from Indiana University. Ms. Wilkinson provides tax planning and advice to tax-exempt organizations with respect to qualification and state regulatory issues, unrelated business income and participation in partnerships and business ventures, executive compensation, lobbying and political activities. She also advises charitable organizations in the development and operation of fundraising programs; establishing and maintaining planned giving programs, including charitable gift annuities, pooled income funds, and use of split-interest trusts, private foundations and other deferred giving arrangements; and record keeping and reporting in the context of contributions, capital campaigns, direct mail solicitations, planned giving and special events. She is a contributing author of the chapter on Section 501(c)(3) Organizations in the 403(b) Answer Book, 6th Edition, published by Aspen Publishers. Ms. Wilkinson advises tax-exempt organizations, with respect to executive compensation and benefits. This advice includes use of incentive and performance-based compensation arrangements and deferred compensation; stock options, other forms of equity compensation and phantom stock plans; and compensation paid in connection with a change in control. In addition, Ms. Wilkinson represents tax-exempt organizations and their employees in complex federal and state tax audits and investigations. Jean M. Baxley is a tax attorney in the Washington, D.C. office of Steptoe & Johnson LLP. She received her LL.M. in Taxation from Georgetown University Law Center in 1997. Ms. Baxley counsels corporate clients with respect to federal tax planning and tax controversy matters, with a particular focus on federal income tax audit and controversy work. She assists clients throughout the audit process, helping clients respond to IRS information and document requests; defends against IRS challenges, including challenges to tax-advantaged transactions; rebuts the IRS s assertion of penalties; and pursues tax refund litigation. Ms. Baxley also renders tax planning advice, provides tax opinions, and prepares letter ruling requests. Ms. Baxley’s primary areas of experience include insurance company and insurance product taxation; the taxation of financial institutions and products, tax-advantaged transactions and economic substance issues, accuracy-related penalties and defenses to penalties, certain disclosure and reporting requirements (e.g., the disclosure rules of section 6011 and the list maintenance rules of section 6112), and privilege and work product issues.