The IRS Gives Guidance on Charitable Donations to Fight Ebola

Dec 01, 2014 By Evan Nielsen In Taxation No Comment Tags : , , , ,

Facebook founder, and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, and his wife Priscilla, recently donated $25 million to the Center for Disease Control to help fight Ebola. While most of us aren’t capable of keeping up with the Zuckerbergs, if you have already made a charitable donation, or are planning on making a donation, to help fight Ebola outbreaks, the IRS has issued two items of guidance as to the taxability of those donations.

 

 

Donate Your PTO, Sick, or Personal Time to a Good Cause

 

If you would like to give, but are short on cash during the Christmas season, check to see if your company has a vacation donation policy. What this means is you can agree to not take whatever amount of PTO time, sick leave, or personal time you may have accumulated, still work these days, but have the money your employer would have paid you, donated to a charity instead. According to the IRS, if the donations are made to a qualified tax-exempt organization providing relief to the victims of the Ebola outbreak in Guinea, Liberia, or Sierra Leone, the amount of the donation will be excluded from your income. You can make this type of donation until January 1, 2016. Additionally, your employer will be allowed to deduct the amount of the cash payment.

 

Ebola Outbreak is a Qualified Disaster for Tax Purposes

 

The Ebola outbreaks in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone have been designated as a qualified disaster under section 139 of the Internal Revenue Code. Qualified disaster relief payments include amounts paid to cover necessary family and/or personal living expenses, or funeral expenses that are not covered by insurance. They also include payments to repair or replace residences or personal property. The payments would not be included in the recipient’s gross income.

 

If you have made a charitable donation to help those affected by the Ebola outbreak in Guinea, Liberia, or Sierra Leone, let Nielsen Law Group assist in ensuring your donation is non-taxable. Call (480) 888-7111 or submit a web request here.