"Documentation" required for a charitable contribution??

Help me win a bet!!

Is the only *required* representation that a small amount paid, let's say by check, to a charity is a charitable contribution the fact that I deduct it on my tax return?

Is it true that a charitable contribution of less than $250 can be deducted without any written indication other than on the tax return that it is/was intended to be a charitable contribution?

A check to the American Red Cross for $10, claimed as an itemized deduction: does it need a notation on the check that it's a donation? Yes or no.... Show me!

I have found this in the IRS online pubs:

Bank records for this recordkeeping requirement include bank or credit union statements, canceled checks, or credit card statements. They must show the date paid or posted, the name of the charity, and the amount of the payment. [emphasis added]

but my naysayer doesn't accept the absence of a stated requirement as the lack of such written requirement, if you know what I mean.

The pub you quote says

You can't deduct a cash contribution ... unless you keep one of the following.
1) A bank record ...
2) A receipt ...
3) payroll deduction record...
"

Since a check is one of the three listed items, it sounds like a positive statement to me.

The issue is whether the purpose of the payment has to be documented, in addition to the payee name, date, and amount. For cash donations $250 and above, a written statement from the organization (or payroll record) is required, but not for under $250.

Your question can’t be answered without knowing the context in which the check was written.

My understanding of the substantiation rules is that for a cash contribution of less than $250 made by check, all you need is the canceled check and a statement from the taxpayer (oral or written) that it was a charitable contribution with no goods or services received.

The context in which the check was written is important For example, if the client attended a charity auction, and wrote the check to the charity to pay for her bid price for an item, say a bottle of wine, then she is going to have to present more than just the check. She will have to prove the value of the bottle of wine. Then, her deduction is the excess of the amount of the check over the value of the bottle of wine.

The context in which the check was written is important For example, if the client attended a charity auction, and wrote the check to the charity to pay for her bid price for an item, say a bottle of wine, then she is going to have to present more than just the check. She will have to prove the value of the bottle of wine.

But none of that has to be writing, anywhere, when the return is filed, if amount under $250. The statute does require other charitable records to be written and in hand before the earlier of the due date or filing date of the return.

The context in which the check was written is important. Indeed. Was it just lore, or a real case, where the taxpayer exchanged his check each week for the actual coin and bills collected at the church, and claimed the 170 deduction for the total of his checks?

The statute does require other charitable records to be written and in hand before the earlier of the due date or filing date of the return.

The only substantiation requirements IN THE STATUTE for cash contributions are for contributions of $250 or more. Sec. 170(f)(8). There are no substantiation requirements IN THE STATUTE for cash contributions of less than $250. The substantiation requirements for cash contributions of less than $250 are in the regulations. Sec. 1.170A-13(a)(1).

Let's say that I have my cancelled check for $10 paid to the American Red Cross dated June 15, and paid at my bank on July 5. There is no notation of anything on the check, and I have no acknowledgment from the Red Cross. Do I have everything I need to claim the ten dollars as a charitable contribution deduction on my income tax return?

No. You can buy a first aid/CPR manual from the Red Cross for $9.95. You need to ask your client say whether the $10.00 was a donation or to buy something.

In the hypothetical, it is my check and my putative deduction. There's no client in the mix for me to ask about the particulars of the check. I will, as you know, sign the return under penalty of perjury...

But as an aside, I did find 26 CFR 1.170A-13(a)(2)(ii) ["Information stated in income tax return. The information required by paragraph (a)(1)(iii) of this section shall be stated in the taxpayer's income tax return if required by the return form or its instructions."] sorta interesting.

Pardon me. I've edited my post. You still need to say whether the check was a donation or to buy something.

How else would one say that beyond claiming it on Schedule A?

But as an aside, I did find 26 CFR 1.170A-13(a)(2)(ii) ["Information stated in income tax return. The information required by paragraph (a)(1)(iii) of this section shall be stated in the taxpayer's income tax return if required by the return form or its instructions."] sorta interesting.

"paragraph (1)(1)(iii)" referred to in this reg starts out by saying, "(iii) In the absence of a canceled check ...", so it doesn't apply here because you have the canceled check.

How else would one say that beyond claiming it on Schedule A?

A lot of people claim deductions on the return that turn out to be something entirely different than claimed. But my point is that if I am preparing a return for a client who is claiming a cash donation of less than $250, and the client shows me the canceled check and nothing else, I'm going to ask whether it was a donation or a purchase, especially if it is not in round numbers (e.g. $231.47 paid to the Salvation Army). Seems a simple enough question to ask.

But my point is that if I am preparing a return for a client who is claiming a cash donation of less than $250, and the client shows me the canceled check and nothing else, I'm going to ask whether it was a donation or a purchase

But the question asked was, what is the minimum requirement? It's not required to ask, and it is not required to have anything in writing beyond the canceled check or bank statement, with payee name, date, and amount.

I think Harry wins his bet.. agreed?

[edit to remove word "minimum"]

The word "minimum" wasn't used in the OP. But I'm not going to argue with you people anymore because I see that I'm outnumbered.

You guys have made my day!! There it is, right there in black-and-white, and I don't mean in a police car!! The past tense of the verb "to cancel" spelled two different ways in the same paragraph [26 CFR 1.170A-13(a)(1)]:

(1)In general. If a taxpayer makes a charitable contribution of money in a taxable year beginning after December 31, 1982, the taxpayer shall maintain for each contribution one of the following:
(i) A cancelled check.
(ii) A receipt from the donee charitable organization showing the name of the donee, the date of the contribution, and the amount of the contribution. A letter or other communication from the donee charitable organization acknowledging receipt of a contribution and showing the date and amount of the contribution constitutes a receipt for purposes of this paragraph (a).
(iii) In the absence of a canceled check or receipt from the donee charitable organization, other reliable written records showing the name of the donee, the date of the contribution, and the amount of the contribution. [emphasis added]

If Treasury's Reg-writers could slip one rung farther down the ladder, they would!!