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The MemberCard and Tax Deductibility
of Member Contributions
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As the end of the year approaches, the question of tax deductibility
may arise when member contribution statements are prepared. We're not
accountants at MBI, and therefore cannot recommend or sanction a station's
tax deductibility policy. This "Tip" is intended for informational
purposes only.
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The vast majority of the 160+ MemberCard stations view the MemberCard
as not affecting the deductibility of a member’s gift. Support for this
view includes the IRS Rules for the “Token Exception Criteria”.
Token Exception — Insubstantial goods or services a charitable
organization provides in exchange for contributions do not have to be
described in the acknowledgement.
Goods and services are considered to be insubstantial if the payment
occurs in the context of a fund-raising campaign in which a charitable
organization informs the donor of the amount of the contribution that is a
deductible contribution, and:
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The fair market value of the benefits received does not exceed
the lesser of 2 percent of the payment or $89, OR
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The payment is at least $44.50, the only items provided bear the
organization’s name or logo, and the cost of these items to the
organization (not the fair market value) is within the limits for
“low-cost articles,” which is $8.90.
In short, the policy in place for most stations allows members to
deduct the entirety of their gifts.
The documentation for this Ruling can be found at the IRS website,
search on “IRS Charitable Contributions Substantiation” or simply click
here: IRS Charitable
Contributions Guidelines for Non-Profits.
There are many more MemberCard strategies, ideas and tons of station
samples available in the MemberCard User's Manual. If yours is missing or
you'd like our help with measuring results, simply call Sue
Maciejowski at 800-423-7645 ext. 11 or email her at sue@membercard.com and she will see
you receive whatever you need! For MemberCard marketing and adding new
benefits/benefit requests, please contact Karen Grider -- Executive
Vice President in the Florida Office at 888-424-3636 or karen@membercard.com.
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