Donation Acknowledgement Letters

To support a cash donation of $250 or more the IRS requires you to have an acknowledgement (ack) letter from the charity which indicates the total amount of the contribution less the fair market value of anything you received back from the charity like a dinner or gift. All charities are required to give you such a letter so now is the time to request one for a 2015 donation if you don't have it. If you get audited 3 years from now and don't have the ack letter, the deduction will be denied. The IRS will still deny the deduction even if you get an ack letter at the time of the audit since the ack letter must be received by the date the original tax return was filed.