TAX ??????? help....

[trolln4walii]

Yes....I'm one of those procrastinators who always files at the deadline. But with good reason. Have to pay Uncle Sam every year way above and beyond what he sucks out of every paycheck :cursin: Well, this year I have a situation I haven't experienced in years. My wife had extensive medical bills and additional pharmaceutical bills that have given us a substantial amount of medical deductions. I have every bill and receipt to document the expenses.

I have been doing my own taxes for years after having an accountant do it previously. I have kept up on all the new changes, etc. and don't think I have screwed myself out of too much :SIB This year we'll be getting back lotsa dimes :thumb:

Question I have is this. I'm anticipating an audit with the red flag medical deductions. Not a problem...but on the "gifts to charity" I do not have record of all my contributions. The total is only around 2 grand (last year it was 2385) We give weekly to church (unfortunately not in the church envelopes) and although the amount is no where near a tithe it averaged @ $25-30/week. The only donation I will have record of is to the United Way as it is deducted weekly from my paycheck. I am not astute in record keeping (my wife says my desk and computer room shoud be condemned) so I have no idea where I could find the evidence of contributions (MS, MD, CP, March of Dimes, Heart Assoc, Epilepsy Foundation, and a few others my sweet wife can't say no to when called upon)

Do I dare claim this or do I need proof for everything? Counting on you guys for some "last minute" advice :SIB As with every other year I file, I'll be putzing around til I make the short jaunt to the post office and deliver at 11:59 and flip the finger :thefinger and mutter a few choice words to the mailbox :mj07: :mj08:

 

[kneifl]

If I were you I would claim it. They don't give you receipts at church, so I would just claim what you thought you gave but no more. The best advice would come from a tax preparer, and that is who I would ask in this situation.

We donate a lot to charity and they give us receipts from the salvation army with contents donated, however we have to fill in what we think is the "fair market value" of the goods when it comes time to write them off at the end of the year.

I think they just look for you to be honest in these type of situations and are not going to put you under a microscope unless they really think you're trying to cheat them.

kneifl

 

[trolln4walii]

Thanks kneifl. Pretty sure I'll claim it......but I still have eleven and a half hours to think about it :mj07: :scared

and they'd have a pretty hard time getting me under a microscope after all the fried walleye I've enjoyed this year

 

[SixFive]

you don't write a personal check at church? That's what I do, and it makes it easy to keep track of how much you give. Sorry about the medical expenses/sickness, but I'm glad you're getting back some this year.

 

[trolln4walii]

you don't write a personal check at church? That's what I do, and it makes it easy to keep track of how much you give. Sorry about the medical expenses/sickness, but I'm glad you're getting back some this year.

Thanks SixFive.......

We used to do that all the time, plus use the church envelope where they'd give us our contributions for the year sometime in January/February for tax purposes. But since our Priest has been ill (over a year....and he finally passed away last week) we didn't care for the replacements and have been visiting different parrishes and going with our sons to their masses. And all we use now instead of checks is the bank debit card. The church doesn't have a machine to scan that I know of (the PROBABLY do, I just haven't asked) :mj07:

My wife is doing great now too. She's sassy as ever and flittin' around town (she didn't drive for quite awhile), shopping, and spending money like she used to :scared It's worth every penny to see her healthy again. We put the expenses on our home equity loan so we can deduct the interest on that as well. Every little bit helps

 

[SixFive]

oh, so all cash donations then? What is the difference in the return with and without the cash donations to church, about 500 bucks? Hmm, not sure what I would do in that situation. I try to never give to church/charity without writing a check. I also find it very easy to turn down folks soliciting for charities. My standard and true reply is, "I already donate a set amount to my church and to the 2 orphans I support, so I'm sorry, but I don't have any money to give to you". I'm never 'guilted' into giving money for anything. If it's a phone solicitor, I say, "NO, and take me off your calling list immediately."