We are now in the tax filing season. Many of us are now receiving our W-2 forms from our employers and getting our final preparations to file our federal and state taxes. Many of us throughout the year may have made contributions to local non-profit organization or made donations to your local places of worship or donated some clothing or household items and you are wondering how these affect your tax filing.

Here are a few helpful tips to make the most of your

1. Make sure your donations were made to a qualifying organization. Remember, an organization may be tax-exempt but your donation may not be tax deductible. Ask the organization for clarification if you are unsure.

2. For any cash or property contribution of $250 or more, you must have written acknowledgment from the organization to substantiate your donation such as a receipt from the organization, bank statement or credit card statement.

3. Only contributions that were actually given to an organization in the calendar year are eligible for a deduction. A donation pledge is not deductible unless it is paid.

4. You can’t deduct the cost of any games of chance, raffles or bingo on your taxes.

For addition information on how to properly deduct your charitable contribution, please go to www.irs.gov

With the recent death of Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Officer David Moore, there have been several individuals that have been contacted by organizations claiming to be collecting donations for Officer Moore. Currently, there are no authorized phone solicitation campaigns or authorized organizations to raise money for Officer Moore. If an organization calls soliciting donations and you have questions about the organization, you can go to www.bbb.org and obtain a report detailing an organization’s finances, governance and solicitations as well as tips and questions to ask before you make a donation.

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