This past weekend, I bought a piece of artwork at a church related art show. First of all, the cashier at the art show undercharged me for local sales tax, but I'm cool with that. My personal check was made payable to the church, not the artist, and I made no notation on the check.
Here's the real question: Along with the receipt for the amount I paid (including the incorrect sales tax, btm), they gave me another document that stated rather stuffily that "One half of the proceeds of the sale price of the art work would be given to the church's charities."
So, if this is really about me paying 1/2 for the artwork and 1/2 to something that might be a charitable organization, how far short of the required documentation for a deduction for half of what I paid am I?
Yeah, we all know the "no goods or services were provided" recitation, but what's necessary when there *was* valuable goods/services provided as part of the purchase price for some artwork?
The oil painting is pretty nice. The total cost is over $250, but one half of it would be less than $250.
And the screwed up sales tax we'll just look past, okay? The cashier is a personal friend who takes criticism poorly...