Donations to church

[teresa]

My husband and I are not members of this church we've been going to for years, but we do go frequently, and we do put quite a bit of money in the pot, annonymously. I don't have proof of donations, but can I claim this significant amount on my expenses? Will the trustee or lawyer want proof? I've never claimed much on my taxes just for that reason, little prrof to substantiate it. I have not filed yet this year, should I up it on my income tax returns?
Thanks
Teresa

[13inOR]

I personally dont think that would be an allowable expense. We didnt even attempt it,but I guess you could always try? I guess I am basing it on the fact that if they didn't let us count our daughters college tuition, they probably wouldnt allow that voluntary expense.

[teresa]

Wow, that really surprises me that it wouldn't be an allowable expense. Going to Church as a family has probably been the biggest thing that has helped me keep my head up. Not that I would quit going if I couldn't claim the expense, but to me it is legitimate.

[13inOR]

I agree, its a huge part of our life too, and we still make what donations we can.
I just looked at my NOLO book, and there is an entry on schedule J
called "charitible contributions". So maybe they would allow it, in a reasonable amount? I don't know what you usually donate, but they might allow some. In our case we just tried to squeeze it out of "miscellaneous"

[aa06a47]

I understand you can deduct 20% for charitible contributions, however, I would imagine you would need to prove you were doing this prior to filing bk, like for 6 months prior.

[FilingOnMyOwn]

Well the bible designates 10% as the appropriate amount for tithes and offerings. I would use that and not be donating more than that because you probably can't afford to at this time.

[aa06a47]

Yes, I do believe if you want to claim the donation, you need to show it has been part of your normal expenses / spending. I know alot of folks would get religion real quick if they could say they give 10% or 20% to charity instead of the plan. I believe you would have to prove it is what I'm trying to say, and I would venture that if your going bankrupt, only a small % of people are actually giving any hugh amount to charity/church.

[keepmine]

It is an allowable expense but, you must prove you have donated this amount of money in the past. A bunch of caselaw on the subject. Here's a recent one from Westlaw:

Tithing Didn't Affect Good Faith in Proposing Plan

A 36-month Chapter 13 plan in which the debtors proposed to tithe 9.8 percent of their gross income, or a total of nearly $15,000 over the plan's three-year term, to their church, while paying only $294 to their unsecured creditors in installments over the life of the plan, was proposed in "good faith," as required for confirmation. The debtor, a deacon in his church, had regularly tithed to the church and had historically been tithing in an amount approximating his proposed charitable contributions. The plan likewise did not violate the "disposable income" requirement as modified by the Religious Liberty and Charitable Donation Protection Act. In re Petty, 2006 WL 510510 (Bkrtcy.E.D.Ark., Judge Taylor).

[queerguy]

The bible does designate 10% as the appropriate amount for tithes and offerings, I was doing 15% but it was very hard.