15 Feb Gifting
Dear Here to Help,
I recently attended a funeral where they asked for donations in lieu of flowers. There was a box to put money in. I asked the funeral directors for a tax receipt and they told me that wasn’t possible.
This seems wrong to me. Surely, they would raise more money for their charity if they gave receipts?
Thanks for your query. You are correct. It is possible to receive tax deduction receipts for this kind of donation.
I suspect the funeral directors just haven’t thought beyond their direct role.
There are a few things you need to do.
First, the charity needs to be a deductible gift recipient. You can check this on their website, or on the ATO’s website. Most large charities are deductible gift recipients.
Second, fill out a piece of paper with your contact details, the amount of the donation, and write “please send a tax receipt to me”.
Third, put your donation and the piece of paper with your contact details in a sealed envelope before you pop it in the donation box.
Basically, this means that the charity can verify that you gave that amount and send you a tax receipt. Easy, right!
While we are talking about gifting, in the current climate, it is useful to know that you can claim a tax deduction for gifts of up to $10 to bucket collections made by approved organisations for natural disasters.
For more information on tax deductions for gifts, click here.
This article comes from my column entitled “Here to Help” in Hunter Local, February 2020. If you have an everyday problem just begging for a simple, real world solution, send it to “Here to Help” and let’s see what we can achieve.
Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash
Elaine Abery has a closet full of great ideas and empowering solutions. She’s also the Director of Unravelling Red Tape, a company dedicated to helping everyday people, not-for-profits and companies change the world through improved decision-making and legislation.
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