Are Contributions To Jehovah's Witnesses Tax Deductible?
Yes but the cult itself tries to dodge paying taxes. The cult has often criticized other churches for passing collection plates during meetings. Other fundraising efforts have also been repeatedly condemned before 1990. After this year the criticism stopped and the cult began to openly solicit donations. The California Board of Equalization wanted to assess sales tax on the sale of books, tapes and other items by the Jimmy Swaggart ministry. The JW cult filed amicus curiae (a friend of the court legal brief) in support of Swaggart’s stance that a religious organization should be exempt from such taxation. (The WTS considers all other religions to be under the influence of the devil, but in this case it joined hands with the devil!). On January 17, 1990 the Supreme Court in California Board of Equalization vs. Jimmy Swaggart Ministries ruled against Swaggart. One month after the Supreme Court ruling the JW cult announced a new policy—that in the USA its literature which was heretofore sold at a fixed price should be offered free to the public and a donation solicited. The JW cult introduced this new donations policy evidently to avoid tax on the sale of its publications. Asking for donations – something condemned for a century – had become acceptable. Despite WTS writers often implying that the main source of funding is “contribution boxes” in Kingdom Halls, most comes from the efforts of six million JWs who trudge the streets and knock on doors to offer WTS literature. These same JWs are obliged to buy personal copies of all magazines and books the Jw cult puts out. The Jw cult has millions of captive buyers expected to purchase the publications without even looking at the contents! The Jw cult produces its literature at minimal cost. Materials are bought in bulk and every step in production is by “volunteers”. Whereas free-literature-for-donations came into force in the USA in 1990, it came into effect in Australia from January 1, 2000. Apparently, the Goods and Services Tax, effective in Australia from July 1, 2000, was the catalyst. God Bless!
Is church donation (tithing) tax deductible?
Is it 100% deductible? Is there a minimum amount of deduction to qualify (I have a wife and 2 kids, 401K, no mortgage, really nothing else to deduct)? What documents do I need to claim the deduction? BTW, I live in California.
Are goodwill donations tax deductible in 2018?
Yes, Goodwill donations, like all charitable donations, remain tax deductible in 2018.However, due to the new tax law, the increased standard deduction in effect will encourage many more taxpayers to take the standard deduction instead of itemizing their deductions. You can only deduct the value of charitable contributions from your taxable income if you itemize your deductions.Hence, that is why this will be the first year where many charitable contributions will no longer have a material impact on your final tax liability.Jofi Joseph, CPA
Do religious institutions get money from the government or just tax breaks?
Religious institutions often qualify for US federal government money when they provide the same services provided by secular organizations. Usually this means private parochial schools are able to apply for public education dollars.The so-called “Lemon Test” from Lemon v. Kurtzman provides a three-pronged test for determining whether a law passes First Amendment muster.The statute must have a secular legislative purpose.The principal or primary effect of the statute must not advance nor inhibit religion.The statute must not result in an "excessive government entanglement" with religion.Vouchers, which often provide public education money to religious schools, have been found to pass constitutional muster (see Zelman v. Simmons-Harris). Additionally, Tilton v Richardson held that public college and university construction grants could be made available to those affiliated with religions.*A new case, Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc v Comer, concerns public money granted for school playgrounds. Missouri has a grant program for schools that wish to repave their playground. Such a program, if it provided funds to religious institutions, would easily past the Lemon Test. The primary purpose is to prevent skinned knees. It does not primarily advance or inhibit any religion and there is no excessive entanglement.However, a Missouri church/daycare and preschool applied for funds for their preschool’s playground but were denied based on the so-called Blaine Amendment to the Missouri State Constitution which prohibits public funds from being used to aid a church. The church sued on First Amendment grounds (claiming the state was infringing on their free exercise by denying them funds available to secular preschools). The 8th circuit ruled against the church in 2015 but the Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal. The case will be argued on April 19, 2017. This will be an important decision, no matter how the Court rules.*- Further cases have found that publicly purchased textbooks, computers, etc. may be provided to private religious schools but those are items instead of funds so I don’t know if they directly relate to the question.
Many people use the charitable tax deduction that is provided by law. Do they get the money right back?
No, that is NOT how donating to charity works.You don’t “get the money back” when you donate to charities. You don’t pay tax on that portion which you give to charities. That is the “write off” (aka deduction from your income). It means that you are not paying taxes on that donation. You still have to pay tax on the money you have left over.For example, you made $100k and donated $10k to charity. You have $90k left and you pay tax on $90k.If you couldn’t write off your donation, then you PAY TAX ON THE FULL $100K INCOME even if you gave $10k away. That means you are paying tax on the $10,000 donation too!To encourage people to donate money to charity, donations can be deducted from (taxable) income. That doesn’t reduce your tax on the money you keep…you pay full taxes on that. So, you do NOT save money. In fact, you end up with less money than if you didn’t donate at all.This is most important for the rich because for every $1000 they make, they pay $400 in federal tax alone and they keep $600. In some states, they would pay another $100 or more and be left with $500 (or less) of that $1000. SO, it comes down to this: “Do I need that $400 or $500 in my pocket, or should I give that up so that a charity can get $1000?”Quite often, they give up that $400-$500 so that the charity gets $1000. They don’t end up with more money.Take this further to very rich people. If they donated $100,000 of their income, in truth, they lost only $50,000 (or less) because if they had kept the money, they would have lost $50,000+ to the government anyways. This $50k is not as important to them as $100,000 is to the charity, so they are willing to lose $50k in income so that the charity gets the full $100k.Using this same example, if the really rich person had $100,000 to give to charity, but had to pay his taxes, he would be paying $50,000+ of that money to the government and the charity will get the remaining amount.Which do you think is better if a rich person has extra money he wishes to donate?Pay half of it to the government and half to a charity?ORPay it all to a charity and not have to pay taxes on that portion that he donates?I would think that the second choice is better because we all know how inefficient and wasteful the government is…
If I am self-employed how do I figure tithing in the Mormon religion before or after deductions?
The word "deductions" in your question is a little confusing. When we pay taxes we first deduct from our earnings certain expenses that are allowed by law. For example, up to about twenty percent we can subtract from our earnings money we give to charity. Or we can elect to take the standard deductions. But tithing doesn't work this way. I think you mean "expenses" rather than "deductions." If you run a business you have gross revenues and you have all the business expenses. Business expenses are not just what your supplies cost you, but include all overhead such as interest payments, utilities, advertising, salaries of employees, taxes, and so on and so forth. The business expenses are much more that what you paid for the cow you later sold, or your supplies. If you paid $500 for supplies, and an additional $500 is the cost of marketing what you bought, and you sell it for $1000, then you have zero profit and you don't owe any tithing at all. Your business profit is the difference between what you take in and all the money you pay out for your business expenses. On the other hand, you shouldn't deduct living expenses from your earnings. Suppose you earn a salary of $100,000 a year. Part of that goes into taxes. Part of it goes to pay off the loan on your house. Part of it goes to buy your food and clothing. Part of it goes into insurance, savings, utilities for your personal home, charitable contributions, and so forth. Your tithing is NOT based on $100,000 minus deductions for all of your living expenses. Your tithing is ten percent of $100,000, or in other words you pay $10,000 in tithing. You have to keep separate your personal expenses or "deductions" from your business expenses or "deductions." It is not like taxes.
Why would contributing between January and April 2019 increase taxes owed? I thought that was the grace period?
Contributing what?Assuming that your tax year is the same as the calendar year, like most individuals, then any contributions to charity in early 2019 will be reported on your 2019 tax return to be filed next year.However, contributions to an IRA in early 2019 may be claimed as tax deferred income on your 2018 tax return to be filed this year. All that is subject to a bunch of rules, of course. Most notably the contributions made in early 2019 that are applied to your 2018 income will count towards the limit for 2018, not 2019.I can’t think of any contributions in 2019 that would increase a tax liability for tax year 2018.