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Midyear tax tip #8: Get charitable

July 1, 2010

Every December, folks clean out their closets in anticipation of new goodies they'll receive as holiday gifts. And some of those old items go to charitable organizations.

That's a good thing. But Carolyn says that charities are just as happy to take your donations, either in goods or cash, now.

Young woman cupping hands, close-up of hands

That's our Midyear Tax
Moves entry number 8: Give to your favorite nonprofit sooner rather than later.

In fact, charitable organizations would like to get donations throughout the year. It helps them meet their operational costs and eases some of the year-end giving crush.

So keep the giving going all 12 months of the year.

As long as the donation is made in the tax year, you can deduct your charitable gift — if you itemize and follow the IRS rules — on your upcoming tax return.

More midyear tax tips on their
way: Many thanks to Carolyn for her heartfelt help with the Midyear Tax
Moves feature.

Our Wednesday posting was postponed because of all the action surrounding Hurricane Alex and the first-time homebuyer credit extension, but we've still got a couple more tax tips to share, so stay tuned.

And If you have a suggestion on how to help
reduce an upcoming 2010 tax bill, we'd love to hear from you.

If you're succinct, I'll take your tip via
Twitter @taxtweet. Got a
bit more to say, post it on the ol' blog's Facebook page.

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The More Tax Posts tab at the top of this page will take you to, well, more tax posts. You also can search below for a tax topic. 

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TAX-SAVVY WAYS 
TO WRAP UP 2026

It’s over! With October’s extended filing deadline behind us, it is now time to focus on year-end moves to reduce your 2026 tax bill. 

You’ll find ways to do just that on the Tax Tips page (see the More Tax Posts drop-down menu at the top of the blog), as well as the separate tax tip pages for each month, notably October through December. If you’re on the Tax Tips page, you’ll find a monthly list at the end of this column. If you’re on another blog page, you can head straight to the October tips; at the bottom of that tips page you’ll find links to all the other 11 months’ collections of tax advice.

Not to spoil what you’ll find in that tax advice, but it does cover such things as tax deductions for charitable donations, investment moves that could reduce tax due, and ways to max out your tax-favored retirement savings. 

Finally, as the year winds down, things get hectic. There are lots of other things to occupy our time, like the much more fun upcoming holidays. But don’t lose sight of taxes, since timing is key. To be of use, most tax moves must be made by the end of the tax year. That’s Thursday, Dec. 31, which also is the last business day of the year. 

So that you don’t miss that final tax year deadline, also keep an eye on the countdown clock below. It will keep you on top of just how much time is left to make important, tax-saving moves. (Note: I’m in the Central Time Zone, so adjust accordingly for where you live.)

Credits/Deductions
Disasters
Family
Filing and Paying Taxes
Politics/Laws
Refunds
State Taxes
Tax Brackets/Inflation
Tax Tips
Comments
  • Cars4Charities
    16 years ago Reply

    You can donate car you no longer use to any of hundreds or respected charities at Cars4Charities. You can can even donate car that doesn’t run. You’ll get a tax deduction of at least $500 when you donate car and the charity gets the procceds from its sale.

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