[sudo-discuss] Taxes

Danny Spitzberg stationaery at gmail.com
Wed Feb 26 12:06:01 PST 2014 

@Richard @Patrick, I'm motivated by what you say about deducting all
donations. I'm no tax expert whatsoever BUT I have deducted whole donations
in the past ($50 to buythissatellite.org for a t-shirt) and nobody ever
said nothing............dot dot dot...... But playing it safe and by the
books, here's an example from longnow.org (I pay member dues of $8/month
which gives me free tickets to all talks/lectures) in which they make the
same recommendation regarding "fair market value" (see below). It seems to
me that Sudo can and should recommend full deductions, possibly because all
member benefits are services (use of the space and shared tools/resources)
not goods (no t-shirts or other swag).

----


Hello Members,

We’d like to thank all of our members for the support you offer Long Now,
through your financial contributions and by sharing your knowledge of the
Foundation’s work to foster long-term thinking.

Did you know that many employers offer a gift-matching program? Your
membership dues may be eligible; please consider increasing the impact of
your gift, and check with your employer’s HR office to learn more.

You may need the following information:

   -

   Long Now’s tax ID number: 68-0384748
   -

   Our contact person: Whitney Deatherage whitney at longnow.org
   -

   The tax deductible amount of your donation


Below you will find a table that you can use to determine how much of the
membership dues you paid in 02013 are tax deductible.  Your membership dues
each year are considered a tax deductible donation, minus the value of the
goods and services you have received.  The Long Now Foundation is a
California State and Federal Non-profit organization and our tax exempt
number is 68-0384748.

Add up how many months you were a Member in 02013:


   -

   Stainless Steel Members $8 for each month in 02013
   -

   Monel Members $30 for each month in 02013
   -

   Tungsten Members $90 for each month in 02013
   -

   Equation of Time Cam Members $2,500 (annual payment)



 Then subtract the estimated fair market value of the gifts you received if
it is your first year of membership:


   -

   Stainless Steel Members
   -

      $15 for your Membership card
      -

   Monel Members
   -

      $15 for your Membership card
      -

      $20 for your Works in Progress book
      -

   Tungsten Members
   -

      $15 for your Membership card
      -

      $20 for your Works in Progress book
      -

      $20 for your Brian Eno Bells CD
      -

   Equation of Time Cam Members
   -

      $15 for your Membership card
      -

      $20 for your Works in Progress book
      -

      $20 for your Brian Eno Bells CD
      -

      $150 for your Equation of Time Cam


Here are some highlights from 02013:


   -

   854 new Members joined Long Now in 02013, and we exceeded our goal of
   5,000 Members
   -

   12 Seminars <http://longnow.org/seminars/> to attend, listen to
live<http://longnow.org/live/>,
   and view online
   -

   Newly re-designed Seminar pages <http://longnow.org/seminars/> with
   easier search, sharable highlights and more
   -

   Construction
begins<http://longnow.org/membership/newsletters/02013-september-equinox/#article1>on
the Long Now Museum re-design, fundraising
   continues <https://longnow.org/salon/>
   -

   Revive and Restore
TEDx<http://longnow.org/membership/newsletters/02013-march-equinox/#article2>
   -

   PanLex hits a billion
translations<http://blog.longnow.org/02013/10/02/panlex-hits-a-billion-translations/>
   -

   A Rosetta Disk is en route to comet
67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko<http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Rosetta/Wake_up_Rosetta>on
board the ESA Rosetta Mission, scheduled to rendezvous with the comet
in
   August 02014
   -

   Partnership with the Future of Being
Human<http://longnow.org/membership/newsletters/02013-december-solstice/#article7>conference
   -

   Manual for Civilization<http://longnow.org/membership/newsletters/02013-june-solstice/#article3>project
launched
   -

   Dissident Futures<http://blog.longnow.org/02013/10/16/dissident-futures-at-ybca/>partnership
with Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
   -

   Partnership with swissnex on the Climate Change
panel<http://longnow.org/membership/newsletters/02013-december-solstice/#article8>with
Saul Griffith, Paul
   Hawken
   -

   and IPCC Scientists
   -

   Our new Bar Manager, Jennifer
Colliau<http://longnow.org/membership/newsletters/02013-december-solstice/#article2>,
   joins the Long Now team
   -

   4 issues of the Quarterly News for
Members<http://longnow.org/membership/newsletters/>published online


And we're looking forward to some great new services and events in 02014:


   -

   Another great lineup of Seminars <http://longnow.org/seminars/>
   -

   Opening of the Long Now Salon <https://longnow.org/salon/> in the spring
   -

   Broadening the reach of the membership
program<https://longnow.org/membership/>and offerings
   -

   More partnerships on thought provoking events and programming
   -

   and more to be announced in our Quarterly News for
Members<http://longnow.org/membership/newsletters/>


<http://longnow.org/membership/newsletters/>

We're looking forward to another fascinating year -  thank you again for
your continuing support!


On Tue, Feb 25, 2014 at 6:19 PM, eddan.com <eddan at sudoroom.tv> wrote:

> Just a note, btw - All those monies deducted by individual contributors
> (at least), in addition to whatever else) also need to be accounted for in
> Sudo Room's financial reporting to the IRS.
>
>
> sent from eddan.com
>
> On Feb 25, 2014, at 5:44 PM, "Patrik D'haeseleer" <patrikd at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> But if membership fees are > $75/yr (and didn't we put a minimum of
> $10/mo?), that clause would not apply. The lowest membership level at
> GAFFTA and the Crucible is exactly $75/yr, which is probably why they can
> make it fully tax deductible. Of course, the Crucible also makes far more
> from class fees than membership fees.
>
> If you pay more than $75/yr, then the organization needs to give you a
> written statement explaining how much is deductible. *Except* they don't
> need to give you a statement if the only things you get are "token items"
> (such as key chains and T-shirts?) and "membership benefits that can be
> disregarded" (such admission to the facilities and member events).
>
> If you read that by the letter, that might mean that the organization
> doesn't need to give you the statement, but you still won't be able to
> deduct those "certain membership benefits"?
>
>  Gah, who wrote this kinda crap? Spaghetti code ain't got nothing on it...
>
> http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p526.pdf
>
> Patrik
>
>
> On Tue, Feb 25, 2014 at 3:50 PM, Richard Karnesky <rakarne at sandia.gov>wrote:
>
>> On 02/25/2014 04:48 AM, Danny Spitzberg wrote:
>>
>>> You can usually deduct a donation minus the "fair market value" of what
>>> rewards (t-shirts, etc) you get in return ... I'd be curious to see what
>>> gray area works in out favor here with membership dues - if they can be
>>> construed as donations
>>>
>>
>> GAFFTA membership fees are fully tax deductible, as are The Crucible's.
>>
>> Per IRS Publication 526:
>>
>> "Certain membership benefits can be disregarded.   Both you and the
>> organization can disregard the following membership benefits if you get
>> them in return for an annual payment of $75 or less.
>>
>>   1.  Any rights or privileges, other than those discussed under Athletic
>> events , earlier, that you can use frequently while you are a member, such
>> as:
>>
>>        a. Free or discounted admission to the organization's facilities
>> or events,
>> ...
>>        c. Preferred access to goods or services,..."
>> When/if sudo is recognized federally as a 501(c)3, I'd imagine dues would
>> be deductible (unless I'm unaware of some additional tangible benefit of
>> membership).
>>
>> Some organizations consider t-shirts and similar to be "token items" that
>> do not decrease the deductible amount of your contribution (they cost the
>> organization less than $10.20 each (presumably in quantity) and they bear
>> the name/logo of the organization for donations greater than or equal to
>> $51/yr.
>>
>>
>> --Rick
>>
>
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