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Substantiating Charitable Deductions at The IRSSubstantiating Charitable Deductions at The IRS

“Close” only counts in horseshoes, hand grenades and nuclear war.

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Conrad Teitell, Heather J. Rhoadesand 1 more

June 20, 2017

20 Min Read
0717-TE-teitell
Composite of person with calculator and tax forms

Charitable deductions in the millions of dollars are lost for failure to strictly comply with the Internal Revenue Code and the Internal Revenue Service’s substantiation and appraisal rules. Substantial compliance (much more on this later) never cuts it at the IRS—and hardly ever in the courts.

We’ll summarize the rules and alert you to pitfalls—and we’ll toss in some cases. While it’s true that every client is entitled to his decade in court, we all want our clients to breeze through at the IRS.

Timing is Key

You’ll be shocked, shocked to read how an eager beaver can lose his charitable deduction. David Donor mails his $100,000 check to charity on Dec. 31, 2016. He mails his 2016 tax return, claiming the charitable deduction, to the IRS on...

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About the Authors

Conrad Teitell

President, Taxwise Giving

Conrad Teitell, A.B., LL.B., LL.M., 98.6. Chairman, National Charitable Planning Group, Cummings & Lockwood, Stamford Conn. For information about Conrad Teitell's publications and lectures visit taxwisegiving.com.

Heather J. Rhoades

 

Heather J. Rhoades practices in the areas of estate planning, estate settlement, trust administration and charitable planning.  She is resident in the West Hartford office where she is a Principal in the Private Clients Group.  She is a member of the firm’s charitable planning group.

Heather received her B.A. from the University of Connecticut and her J.D. from the University of Connecticut School of Law.  She now serves as a mentor for UCONN law students in their first year.

Heather is admitted to practice in Connecticut and is a member of the American, Connecticut and Hartford County Bar Associations.  She is also a member of the Executive Committee of the Estates and Probate Section of the Connecticut Bar Association and is co-chair of the continuing legal education subcommittee of this Section.  Heather is a member of the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving Professional Advisory Committee and the UCONN Foundation Planned Giving Professional Advisory Council.  In addition, Heather is a Director of the Estate and Business Planning Council of Hartford and chair of the seminar committee of the Council.

Heather is a frequent speaker on estate and tax planning issues and has authored a number of articles focusing on various estate planning subjects.

Cara Howe Santoro

Associate, Holland & Knight

Cara Howe Santoro is an associate in Holland & Knight's Boston office.

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