Was my payment to TAM7 considered a charitable donation?

[Malfeitor]

Last minute tax question I was pondering. I think my membership donation would be deductible but, what about money payed for the TAM conference itself?

[The Central Scrutinizer]

No. Because you got something of value (the conference) in return.

ETA: The membership is deductible.

[Malfeitor]

Ok...that's kind of what I was thinking. Thanks for the answer.

[exarch]

This reminds me that I probably still need to actually renew my membership.
I keep having trouble finding where to do that ...

[kittynh]

well if you buy something from the the Scholarshp auction area, it's not BUYING it's donation. Like your tote bag from PBS.

Come on, help out the scholarship fund and the stuff is better than a tote bag.

[Malfeitor]

This reminds me that I probably still need to actually renew my membership.
I keep having trouble finding where to do that ...


Memberships are sold under the STORE link on the JREF homepage.

[exarch]

Memberships are sold under the STORE link on the JREF homepage.

You're absolutely right.
And it appears the store is the only way to get to them too. The menu on the left appears to be completely unrelated to either the link bar on top or the contents on the right. That's why I couldn't find it.

[ejk]

well if you buy something from the the Scholarshp auction area, it's not BUYING it's donation. Like your tote bag from PBS.

Come on, help out the scholarship fund and the stuff is better than a tote bag.

Actually, that's not correct. Your tote bag from PBS reduces the amount of the deduction you can claim, although usually you have to give much more than it's worth so get a deduction for part of the gift. If the amount you pay is $75 or more, the organization has to tell you what the item is worth and remind you of this rule.

Everyone should still go buy stuff in the auction. You can claim a deduction if you spend a lot more than the fair market value, so bid those items up!

[KingMerv00]

ETA: The membership is deductible.

Is that correct? Doesn't membership give you discounts for TAM registration?

[The Central Scrutinizer]

Is that correct? Doesn't membership give you discounts for TAM registration?

Yes. IANAL and IANACPA, but it is still deductible. My membership to the St. Louis Art Museum is fully deductible (minus the "value" of the quarterly newsletter, I think around $15), even though it gets me into special exhibitions for free.

[KingMerv00]

Yes. IANAL and IANACPA, but it is still deductible. My membership to the St. Louis Art Museum is fully deductible (minus the "value" of the quarterly newsletter, I think around $15), even though it gets me into special exhibitions for free.

You can get certain small rewards for donations and still have a donation be fully deductible. For example, your donation of $200 to PBS is still deductible even though you get a coffee mug.

I don't know if JREF membership qualifies or not.

[The Central Scrutinizer]

I don't know if JREF membership qualifies or not.

I don't see how it doesn't.

[ejk]

You can get certain small rewards for donations and still have a donation be fully deductible. For example, your donation of $200 to PBS is still deductible even though you get a coffee mug.

I don't know if JREF membership qualifies or not.

In the "more than you really wanted to know" category:

Certain benefits are disregarded in calculating tax deductibility if they are provided to members who pay $75 or less per year.

●rights or privileges that the member can exercise frequently during the membership period, such as discounted admission to the organization's facilities, gift shop discounts, or discounted rates on publications; and

●admission to events open to members only and which are projected to cost the organization less than the amount established for "low cost articles" ($9.60 in 2010, indexed annually for inflation).

There are other benefits that are considered "insubstantial" and therefore disregarded:

●token items costing less than the "low cost" limits provided in return for a payment of at least $48.00 (also indexed for inflation);

●benefits whose fair market value is less than 2% of the contribution amount up to a maximum of $96.00 (again, indexed for inflation); and

●newsletters that have the primary function of informing members about the organization's activities, so long as they are not available to nonmembers through paid subscription or newsstand sales (and so long as they are not "commercial quality publications" -- generally, those that accept advertising and have articles written for compensation)

So generally JREF membership should be fully deductible. It's true that TAM admission discount is something you can only use once a year, but if there's a general policy of reduced admission for members I think it would be okay. Plus these days you can theoretically attend at least 3 TAMs a year; surely that's frequent enough.

And I dropped in here to get my mind off work!

[Paul C. Anagnostopoulos]

Is that correct? Doesn't membership give you discounts for TAM registration?
Unless you are a student, yes it does. Registration is $425 for adults who aren't members, $350 for adults who are members.

~~ Paul