January 10, 2002 | Read Time: 1 minute
The Internal Revenue Service has announced several changes for the 2002 tax year that adjust tax laws to reflect inflation. One change affects the way donors calculate their charitable deductions.
Federal law allows donors to take deductions only for the portions of their contributions that are outright gifts. If donors receive any item of value in return, they must subtract the cost of such items. Contributors may ignore token items they receive from charities.
The IRS said that a charity could tell a donor that gifts were fully deductible if:
- The donor contributed $39.50 or more and received premiums that cost $7.90 or less. In 2001, those figures were $38 and $7.60.
- The donor received premiums that had a fair market value equal to no more than 2 percent of the amount of the contribution, or $79, whichever was less. In 2001, the dollar figure was $76.
- The donor received appeals that contained small items — such as mailing labels — that were worth a total of no more than $7.90. The figure was $7.60 last year.
The IRS also announced new threshold figures for taxpayers who are affected by a limit on overall deductions, including those for gifts to charity. In 2002, taxpayers with adjusted gross incomes of $137,300 or more will have to subtract from their deductions 3 percent of the amount by which their income exceeds that amount. The income figure was $132,950 in 2001 (Revenue Procedure 2001-59, Internal Revenue Bulletin 2001-52). The text of the notice is available online at http://ftp.fedworld.gov/pub/irs-drop/rp-01-59.pdf.
