How many of you out here in MM land keep track of how much you give to charity?  Like when the neighborhood kids come knocking selling stuff to raise money for their school. . .or when you donate $10 to the Salvation Army bell ringer guy/gal. . .or any other time you buy something to help someone raise money.  Anyone???

Of those of you that do. . .how much do your donations have to total before it can be an official tax deduction?

For example:
The insurance company that I work for duing the day (that's where I am right now BTW) requests that all employees who "wish" to wear jeans and tennis shoes, pay $1 ($1 if you just wear jeans and a company logo t-shirt/polo shirt, $2 if you wear jeans and tennis shoes).  This is only allowed on Fridays.  All of the money collected is donated to a local Children's Hospital.

That equates, for some, to $2/week for 52 weeks/year or $104 a year.  A co-worker of mine said that she keeps track of everything and at the end of the year. . .deduction.  Anyone else do this???

It doesn't have to total any certain amount and you don't even need receipts. You can put anything you like on the form.

However, if it's more than a minimal amount, you'd better be able to document it, because if you get audited, the onus is on you to prove up the amount and value of the donations.

M

That's good to know b/c it's not like Girl Scouts give you receipts for those damn cookies.