Do Charitable Deductions apply to Dependent

[photoman]

I have a client that their son volunteers for Angel Flights. I believe that his miles driven to the airport and expenses while on the flight(food,Motel) would qualify as charitable deductions on the parents return. He does not have any income and is a full time student.
Do others see this the same way or am I off base. The other thing is that in all the irs pubs I cannot find anything saying we can deduc charitable donations of a dependent. Any comments on that.

[Bill Tubbs]

dependent's charitable expenses

...are deductible by the dependent. Don't see any reason why a dependent couldn't itemize (if they have enought qualifying expenses).

Dependent's expenses cannot just automatically go on parents' returrn as the parents didn't have that expense. If it was the parents' car though, then the mileage could go on the parents' return.

Bill

[BP.]

in all the irs pubs I cannot find anything saying we can deduc charitable donations of a dependent. Any comments on that.

There's a bit in pub 17, p. 161, middle left column, under "Contributions You Cannot Deduct." It says if you pay, for example, your son's expenses in service to a qualified organization, (you mention son has no income, so I suppose parents pay) then you cannot deduct the expenses.

[Koss]

Agree

I agree with BP and Bill Tubbs. But there is a very subtle point that may need to be clarified.

In general, itemized deductions of a dependent cannot be claimed by the parents. Medical expenses of a dependent may be the only exception to this rule. IRS instructions, and the code itself, clearly state that parents can take a deduction on Schedule A for the medical and dental expenses of their dependents.

Education credits are available to the parents even if the child actually paid the expenses, but those are not itemized deductions.

But even medical and dental expenses may not be the exception that it appears to be. The rules say that parents can deduct medical expenses that were [i]paid by the parents[i] to provide medical care to the children. So the expense is paid by the parents, and it is deductible by the parents. Whether the parents can take a deduction for medical expenses that were actually paid by the child is a different question. I don't have an answer to this question.

No other itemized deductions appear to qualify in this manner. For example, if a college-age dependent, who is a qualifying child as a full time student under age 24, somehow owns a house (inherited from a grandparent, perhaps), can the parents, who are claiming the child as a dependent, take an itemized deduction for the property tax on the house that is owned by the child? I don't think so. And I don't think it makes a difference who actually paid the property tax. If you aren't the owner of the house, you don't get the tax deduction...

I don't see why charitable contributions would be any different.

In the words of the Tax Court, "Deductions are a matter of legislative grace."

If the code doesn't say it's deductible, it isn't deductible. The code explicitly authorizes a parent to deduct medical expenses of a dependent. Other itemized deductions just don't work this way.

Now, if the parent actually incurred the expense, i.e., the mileage is on the parents' vehicle, then you may have an argument... But I'm still not convinced, because the reality is that the parent is not using his car to get himself to a place where he will perform charitable work. Either the parent is giving a ride to someone else who is performing charitable work, or the parent is lending the vehicle to someone who is performing charitable work.

And I'm not sure that either of those fact patterns supports a charitable deduction for miles. I don't think it makes a difference whether the person performing charitable work is your dependent, or related to you, or not related at all. Giving them a ride or lending them your car just isn't the same as incurring your own mileage expense for your own charitable work. It may not be deductible at all.

BMK

[ChEAr$]

Very simply put, the tax code says charitable contributions deductions are available only to the taxpayer. Taxpayer meaning both parents (only) on a joint return.

[Nashville]

Post Tagline

...how convenient.

"Can you really save 15% or more by switching to Geico?"

...[guy pauses momentarily]...

"Do Charitable Deductions Apply to Dependent?"

(...wonder how they'd act that one out on TV...)

[Burke]

Very simply put, the tax code says charitable contributions deductions are available only to the taxpayer. Taxpayer meaning both parents (only) on a joint return.

So the money they give to their kids to put in the plate at Sunday School cannot be counted?

[Gary2]

Now, if the parent actually incurred the expense, i.e., the mileage is on the parents' vehicle, then you may have an argument... But I'm still not convinced, because the reality is that the parent is not using his car to get himself to a place where he will perform charitable work. Either the parent is giving a ride to someone else who is performing charitable work, or the parent is lending the vehicle to someone who is performing charitable work.

And I'm not sure that either of those fact patterns supports a charitable deduction for miles. I don't think it makes a difference whether the person performing charitable work is your dependent, or related to you, or not related at all. Giving them a ride or lending them your car just isn't the same as incurring your own mileage expense for your own charitable work. It may not be deductible at all.

Pub 526 doesn't say that car expenses are only deductible for getting you to the place where you'll do charitable work. It says they're deductible if they're "related to the use of your car in giving services to a charitable organization." If driving their volunteers around isn't a service to the organization, I'm not sure what is.

[Koss]

Cash Contributions?

I think that if the children are very young, then this is simply a case of agency, where the children are delivering the donation for their parents.

The more subtle question is whether you can really deduct cash contributions at all anymore. I'm not saying you can't. But I think technically they need to be tracked with a receipt from the church, even if it's only a few dollars. Many churches handle this with collection envelopes, which identify the church member or donor, even when the donation is in cash. Through this accounting mechanism, the church then issues a receipt, or letter, detailing the total donations at the end of the year. The cash contributions are included, and properly accounted for under the IRS rules.

All of which simply proves my point about agency. If everyone plays by the rules, then the donation that is handed in by by the child belongs in an envelope with the parents' name on it. The kid doesn't have a separate account tracked by the church office...

If it's only a few bucks, and they're not tracking it, I would probably still put it on Schedule A for the parents, but technically I don't think it's in compliance with the IRS rules for documentation of charitable donations. My point is that it if it was in compliance, it would show that the money was donated to church by the parents, not by the child.

BMK

[Koss]

Point well taken

I hadn't thought through this very well, and I hadn't seen the issue from this particular point of view.

I still say that the question gets a bit more dicey if the kid is driving himself using the parents' car... I'm not sure it even makes a difference who paid for the gas.

BMK

[MAJ]

Take the Deduction already!!

Take it -- Run with it --- I mean - Let's be serious - Even at 5,000 miles we're talking a $700 deduciton. If it's the parents car - and they pay/paid for it - Pay the insurance - Pay the gas - It's not important who is driving. Son or GOD! The EXPENSE was incurred by the parents. Unless of course - GOD did a bigger service! 8-)

Take it - In fact - Drive it....
One thing I like about the EZPass type systems is it provides some sort of correlation to the claims of mileage (where tolls are involved at least).

Enjoy...... G'night..

[taxea]

I have a client that their son volunteers for Angel Flights. I believe that his miles driven to the airport and expenses while on the flight(food,Motel) would qualify as charitable deductions on the parents return. He does not have any income and is a full time student.
Do others see this the same way or am I off base. The other thing is that in all the irs pubs I cannot find anything saying we can deduc charitable donations of a dependent. Any comments on that.

I would think it would depend on who pays the vehicle expenses and any other expenses while he is volunteering. If he uses his own money, then no the parents can't take the deductions