# No cost to you charitable deductions



## Null (Oct 6, 2015)

swagbucks.com (a rebate site) has 3 organizations listed that if donated to will give you points of equal value to the minimum qualified donation. So you'll get a donation receipt, but ultimately you have no net cash outflow. IIRC, the IRS does not tax rebates, so it's a legitimate way to claim the charity without actually spending any of your own money.

Sign up (I can't post referral codes ). Use the following search terms:

CCF
Nature Conservancy
Mercy Corps

They hold the point value for 3 days, but you can redeem the points right back for gift cards once credited. If you play your cards right and redeem for the right cards (such as store specific cards, etc.) you can redeem your points at a discount from face value. Effectively, you're making a profit off making donations that cost you nothing (couple bucks but hey). You're donating and the charity gets the face value and that should be reason enough.

Feel free to PM or post for any clarifications. Just be sure the email you use to sign up matches the one used on the donation site (matters for some transactions).

Anyway, here's a screenshot from my point history. I donated $10 to the Red Cross as well (500 points - $5 value) at a net loss of $5. But not really since I have an upcoming Amazon purchase. =D


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## UberTaxPro (Oct 3, 2014)

"*You can deduct only the amount that exceeds the fair market value of the benefit received if your contribution entitles you to merchandise, goods or services*, including admission to a charity ball, banquet, theatrical performance, or sporting event."
https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc506.html


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## Null (Oct 6, 2015)

UberTaxPro said:


> "*You can deduct only the amount that exceeds the fair market value of the benefit received if your contribution entitles you to merchandise, goods or services*, including admission to a charity ball, banquet, theatrical performance, or sporting event."
> https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc506.html


Probably not worth fighting the IRS on it if it came to it. I think there's some grey area given that the charity themselves provide no direct value to you. At the very least it's a 100% wash for tax purposes, but you got to toss some money at cancer research (for example) and effectively spend nothing OOP.

I think this is more akin to a family member saying, "I'm giving you $10 to give to a charity of your choosing, but you have to put up the money first" - I don't believe the IRS would complain that the $10 did not ultimately come from you for deduction purposes.

But with the way the points work vs the donation, you can actually gain about $16 donating to the charities depending on how you redeem the points, as well as how you handle any referral. For example, I referred my GF to swagbucks, she donated to all the same charities. I got $5 for the referral and she got $5 signup, I then also get 10% of any points she accrues (about $7 in value) + the net point value to me.


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