Do you have a gift acceptance policy? Most nonprofit organizations do not have such a policy adopted until after the fundraising program is in place. This article by Kathryn W. Miree, Esq. will give the reader a greater understanding of the purpose of, as well as how to draft and adopt, gift acceptance policies.

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The second article in this two-part series explores the regulatory process involved in making the tax rules governing charitable giving, including the roles of the IRS and Treasury.  MORE »

Several individuals and organizations have responded to Notice 2000-37, in which the IRS invited public suggestions for updating the sample charitable remainder trust forms previously published by the IRS.   MORE »

For purposes of determining the present value of an annuity, an interest for life or a term of years, or a remainder or a reversionary interest, Revenue Ruling 2001-3 indicates that the charitable mid-term federal rate under Code Section 7520 for the month of January is 6.8%.   MORE »

This article explores the legislative process involved in making the tax rules governing charitable giving. Part II of this article will explore the regulatory process. This review of the processes involved in making the rules assist the reader in understanding and evaluating where a particular proposal stands, how it got to that point and the likelihood that it will come into effect.  MORE »

In Harbison v. United States, 86 AFTD2d Par. 2000-5593; No. 1:98-cv-1675-BBM (Nov. 17, 2000), the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division, granted a summary judgment motion in favor of a decedent's granddaughters as to their right to receive an estate tax refund resulting from an estate tax charitable deduction. The Court found that a charitable deduction was allowable for the assets passing to charity upon the termination of a life estate trust created under the decedent's will given the death of the trust's income beneficiary before the first estate tax return was filed and despite the invasion of the trust for the income beneficiary's benefit prior to his death.   MORE »

A potentially useful lifetime charitable giving technique for donors who own appreciated employer stock in a qualified retirement plan is described in this article by Dan Rice. As the article explains, the technique involves obtaining favorable tax results for the transfer of the stock to a charitable remainder trust when the stock is distributed from the plan in a lump sum distribution during the donor's lifetime.  MORE »

The United States Tax Court ruled in a Memorandum decision that a taxpayer could not deduct charitable contributions for 1994, 1995 and 1996 because of his failure to substantiate the contributions and his failure to show that the recipients were qualified charities. Further, the Court ruled that the taxpayer was liable for accuracy related penalties under Code Section 6662(a).   MORE »

In Ltr. Rul. 200045033, the Service held, in part, that a supporting organization's distributions to a supported organization complied with the "substantially all" requirements of the Regulations and that it will be able to carry over for 5 years distributions which exceed 85% of its adjusted net income.   MORE »

For purposes of determining the present value of an annuity, an interest for life or a term of years, or a remainder or a reversionary interest, Revenue Ruling 2000-54 indicates that the charitable mid-term federal rate under Code Section 7520 for the month of December is 7.0%.   MORE »