Charities throughout the country rely on donations from the public for their sustenance. If you have hesitated to give to charity in the past, you may be convinced to start when you realize that your donations could be tax deductible. Before you decide to what charities to give, you may want to learn first under what circumstances you can include donations on your tax returns.

Potential Tax Savings

Charities typically accept donations from people regardless of how much money donors earn each year. However, while many people find satisfaction in giving to goodwill organizations, some taxpayers may not benefit by deducting their donations on their returns. 

Primarily, charitable donations benefit higher income earners especially those whose incomes exceed the 10 percent tax bracket. Lower income earners often do not make enough money to exceed the standard deduction rate allowed by the IRS. They cannot itemize deductions like charitable donations on their tax returns.

People who are in the 15 percent or higher tax brackets may benefit by deducting donations to charity, however. In general, the amount of money you save by donating to charity increases as you rise through the tax brackets. People who earn the highest incomes typically can deduct more and save the most money by donating to IRS-approved charities.

Applicable Charities

To include these deductions on your return, you need to have made the charitable donation during the same tax year. You cannot include donations that you made last year or several years ago. The donation to charity must be made on or before December 31 to be eligible for including on your tax returns.

Likewise, you need to donate to an IRS-approved 501 (c) (3) charity. These charities include:

• Churches
• Tax-exempt educational organizations
• Tax-exempt hospitals and medical research organizations
• Community chests supported by the public
• Private foundations that donate to public charities
• Membership organizations that contribute more than one-third of donations to the public

You cannot deduct donations made to:

• Individuals
• International disaster relief or humanitarian charities unless registered in the U.S.
• Foreign governments
• Political parties
• Political campaigns
• Social welfare organizations
• Political action committees

Before you donate to any charity, you should ensure that it is a 501 (c) (3) if you plan to deduct your donation on your tax returns.

Non-Cash Donations to Charity

Your tax deductible donations to charity can help lower the amount of money you owe to the IRS. When you write a check or donate using a credit card, you can prove your donation with the canceled check or credit card invoice. Likewise, most charities provide receipts to people who donate in cash.

However, you may wonder how you can substantiate a non-cash donation that you make to charity. Non-cash donations can include:

• Household items
• Furniture
• Office equipment
• Vehicles

As with cash, check, or credit card donations, most charities will provide you with a receipt of your contribution. 

You can deduct non-cash donations from your taxes for the property's fair market value. The market value must be at least $500. You are advised to keep the original copy of the receipt for up to 10 years after you make the non-cash donation in the event of an audit.

The IRS allows taxpayers to deduct charitable donations on their taxes as a way to lower their tax burdens. Before you donate to a charity, you may want to learn if doing so would benefit you when you file taxes. You also can discover to what organizations and charities to give money and property when you want to reduce what you owe to the IRS each year.