The Thanksgiving leftovers have been plundered and hours have been spent shopping in stores or online during Cyber Monday. Giving Tuesday is here and it’s great time think about where you may spend your charitable dollars.
CBS business analyst Jill Schlesinger urges anyone dishing out a few bucks this holiday season to do some research.
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“You want to see how much of your donation goes to supporting a program versus the overhead of the organization,” Schlesinger told WTOP.
She suggested a few resources:
“These are all organizations that take in the information and really try to give you some perspective as to how you can make your charitable dollars go further,” Schlesinger said.
Schlesinger also warned that many scammers are out and about this holiday season posing as nonprofits.
If someone who claims to represent an organization calls or emails you aggressively for a donation, don’t give that person any personal information or your credit card number until your can verify he is with a legitimate organization.
“You can do that at irs.gov,” where there is a tax-exempt organizations search tool, Schlesinger said.
Speaking of the IRS, just a friendly reminder that the charitable tax exemptions that passed under the CARES Act will not be on your return this year.
In 2020 and 2021, anyone who gave cash contributions of $300 or $600 as a couple, could get a deduction on their tax returns.
In 2022, things revert to the former tax rules: unless you itemize your deductions, you do not get a tax benefit from giving.
