March 21, 2002 | Read Time: 1 minute
By Grant Williams
The Internal Revenue Service has confirmed that charities and churches may fulfill a federal requirement by using e-mail messages to provide acknowledgments to donors for certain gifts.
The approval from the IRS comes in a new publication that the revenue service says is designed to help charities and taxpayers understand the rules for documenting charitable deductions claimed on federal tax returns.
Under a federal law that went into effect in 1994, donors cannot claim write-offs for gifts of $250 or more unless they have written acknowledgments from charities.
The IRS said in a statement that with gift acknowledgments, “the use of e-mail can speed this process and help charities provide better service to their contributors.”
Publication 1771, “Charitable Contributions: Substantiation and Disclosure Requirements,” explains when acknowledgments are required and provides examples of receipts that will satisfy the requirement. An advance copy of the publication is available on the IRS Web site, http://www.irs.gov. Printed copies may be ordered by calling IRS Exempt Organizations Customer Account Services at (877) 829-5500.
