Getting the right tax advice and tips is vital in the complex tax world we live in. The Kiplinger Tax Letter helps you stay right on the money with the latest news and forecasts, with insight from our highly experienced team (Get a free issue of The Kiplinger Tax Letter or subscribe). You can only get the full array of advice by subscribing to the Tax Letter, but we will regularly feature snippets from it online, and here is one of those samples…
Think twice before donating the right to use your vacation home to charity. Charities such as schools and churches often use such places as prizes for dinners, galas or auctions that they sponsor to raise funds for their activities.
You don’t get a charitable write-off for donating the right to use your vacation home because you gave only a partial interest in the property.
Nor is there any tax deduction for the winning bidder, unless the person paid more for his or her winning bid than what the vacation home prize is worth, and in that case, the bidder can deduct only the excess amount paid.
And if you also rent out the property to others, the time used by the winning bidder counts as personal use for purposes of the rule that bars deducting rental losses when the owner’s personal use tops the greater of 14 days or 10% of days rented.
This first appeared in The Kiplinger Tax Letter. It helps you navigate the complex world of tax by keeping you up-to-date on new and pending changes in tax laws, providing tips to lower your business taxes and personal taxes, and forecasting what the White House and Congress might do with taxes. Get a free issue of The Kiplinger Tax Letter or subscribe.
