Video: Last Days Of The Year To Donate To Charity For Tax Benefit

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GOLDEN TRIANGLE, Miss. (WCBI) – With the end of the year in sight, tax season is quickly approaching.

According to Forbes, 88% of households give to charity.

Giving can not only help your community but also reap a tax benefit.

Right now, the shelves at Helping Hands in Columbus are full.

“Our shelves stock up real well and we’re real excited to see that,” said Nancy Guerry, Executive Director of Helping Hands Ministry.

Not only is there a surge of donations for the food pantry during the holidays but also an increase of financial gifts as the year comes to an end.

“I know people really are generous and just in their heart they want to give and they want to help where they can. And we are a non-profit so of course if they write a check to us or even give us cash we can give them a receipt and they can use that for their tax purposes if that’s what they would like,” said Guerry.

Shelleen Farmer is the office manager at ABS Tax Service. She says it’s important to get your last charity donations in this week if you want to see a tax benefit.

“Everything that is going to be done as far as your charitable contributions need to be done by December 31st. When you take those donations in, usually when you go into the clerk, they’ll give you a sheet and they’ll do a check-off as to what you brought in, and it’s sort of like an itemization of what you brought in and the fair-market value of those items. And when you come in to file your taxes, you can bring that itemization sheet in with you,” said Farmer

Farmer also urges everyone to document their charitable giving throughout the year and within the last days of 2015, get those gifts in to your local non-profit.

“Go on in and make your donations to the salvation army, take care of what you need to do with your church, get with the church to get your letters, and get everything done and documented by December 31st,” added Farmer.

It’s important to make sure you donate to a non-profit that qualifies as a tax exempt 501 (c)(3) organization. Any donations that you make to an organization that does not currently maintain this special status will not qualify as tax deductions.