This quiz will test a person's knowledge on recording various types of donations.

According to IRS publication 1771, the value is never placed on the donor's statement - ie the written acknowledgment. This is the instructions about the information that should be on the donor's statement.
1. the name of organization
2. the amount of cash contribution,
3. a description (but not the value) of non-cash contribution,
4. a statement that no goods or services were provided by the organization in return for the
contribution, if that was the case,
5. a description and good faith estimate of the value of goods or services, if any, that an
organization provided in return for the contribution,
6. a statement that goods or services, if any, that an organization provided in return for the contribution consisted entirely of intangible religious benefits, if that was the case.

A volunteer can't deduct their time and services. However an attorney can ask for a GIK donation statement for things like travel expenses for the attorney to come and meet with your organization. Or say for all the cost of mailings to your organization. In other words the expenses have to be documented and not just a 'service' or 'time'. There are a lot of rules on this that the churches should review before giving out any donation statements to any volunteers.

When stocks are donated directly to the church instead of cash, the donor does not pay any 'capital gains tax' on the stocks. If the stocks appreciated a lot and the donor is in a top tax bracket, this translates to a 37% tax savings as of tax year 2020. And all the stock appreciation goes to the church. Avoiding the capital gains tax only works on stocks that are owned for at least one year. Keep in mind the more the church can advise donors on their giving options and how they benefit the donor the more the church could receive in donations.

The IRS's basic rule is that the gift must be delivered to the church by December 31st. For USPS they use the postmarked date as the delivery date, whether or not the donation envelope is physically delivered to the church.

According to IRS publication 526, page 21, donations that are equal to or over $5,000.00, a paid professional appraiser must be used and their written appraisal must be included with the donor's tax return.

According to IRS publication 1771 page 4, under the Recordkeeping Rules, subsection 'Requirement', the date and amount are both needed. While the IRS publication 1771 says the donor is responsible for this information, the church should have it on the donor statement so they can match it their records such as a bank record like a cancelled check or bank statement.

According to the IRS instructions for the 1098-C, the donor must figure out the amount for the donated item (ie car, plane, and boat). This is atypical because most gifts in kind (GIK) can be donated without knowing the value. Most GIK's don't require a 30 day reporting period.

The IRS form 8282 is to be filled out with 125 days of selling the property. The sold property has a three year limit on the reporting of it. Please review the form instructions for the 8282 to see all the requirements under the 'Who Must File' section.

According to the IRS website, non cash donations are not to have their value placed on the statement. Another resource is:

IRS Publication 561.