CAF tax question
- Thread starter COUGinNCW
- Start date
I believe so, but with the increase in the standard deductio, the itemized deduction isn’t the way to go for most people.
I have a ton of deductions currently (hence why I’m not a bigger donar) so every bit helps. Now if I could figure out how to deduct kids sports expenses....
COUGin - the link below explains this pretty well. Bottom line - no you can no longer deduct the portion of your CAF gift that is required to purchase your season tickets (You used to be able to deduct 80% of it). If you give more than that required amount, then the extra is fully deductible.
And be sure not to listen to LAWYERS on these matters. They think they are accountants too, but they are not. In fact they think they are smarter than everyone on all matters, but again they are not.
http://leafferlaw.com/resources/new-tax-law-focus-deduction-sacked-season-ticket-holders/
Nope. There used to be a clause that allowed individuals to deduct 80% of the seatback donation amount, but it was repealed under the tax reform bill and died on December 31, 2017. You (we) can't deduct anything anymore.
Plus, like someone else said, with the increased standard deduction, for most people it no longer makes sense to itemize anyway.
I write off every check that is addressed to the CAF, I know the Coug administration has to break it down, but until the IRS tells me otherwise I am going by my rules, I need every deduction I can get now that Trump has capped mortgage interest ($750,000 max loan) and property taxes. ($10,000)
My understanding is that if you're not receiving anything in exchange for the donation (including the "right" to buy seats in a better location), it remains deductible.
If you buy seats that are $300 each, with a $1,000 donation requirement, but you donate $5,000...my understanding is that $4,000 is deductible. For the first $1,000, you're receiving something in exchange. You don't get anything for the additional $4,000, so it's deductible.
Possible I'm wrong...since you still get priority points for that money, but it's not clear to me whether deductibility is impacted by that.
I should probably look into it, I bought & sold houses this year so it might actually make sense to itemize, and I always donate more than is required for my seats.
If you want a clear-cut, 100% deductible donation - give money to WSU Foundation instead of CAF.
Well the IRS has told you that, so you are cheating on your taxes if you are deducting 100% (pre-2018) or any % (2018) of your season-ticket-location required donation. Not that I care, I'm not the IRS. Although if you own a home that has a loan larger than $750,000, you shouldn't have to cheat on your taxes to get by 'cuz you must be pretty well off. So write a bigger check so we can build that IPF!
I answered this question at 10:00 this morning with my post and a very clear link. If you want to "look into it", read my post and the link. Geez.
Not really. Your link showed didn’t address donations in excess of the seatback requirement.
That's the route that I'd recommend for anyone. I know a guy who paid special assessment taxes on his house that were technically not deductible, but the end of year statement didn't break down which taxes were for special assessments and which were general property taxes so he just deducted the whole amount shown on the statement. Over the course of time, he saved about $5,700 in taxes and enough time has passed where an audit wouldn't be an issue.
Yeah I also recommend fraudulently claiming deductions. If Al Capone could do it, why not Joe Coug? Oh, wait, didn't Al go to prison for tax evasion?
Anyway, I'm not some tax nanny. The 'ol underground economy was familiar to me back in the day of odd jobs and cash payments. In your RE tax example, that info does not go to the IRS so you could claim anything you wanted and risk the <1% chance of being audited. With CAF and other donations, the only IRS reporting occurs if the donation is over $5,000, in which case the non-profit has to list names and amounts on its 990. I don't know if the IRS has the ability to put those into a database and compare it to individual deductions. Highly doubt it, as the 990 doesn't collect SS numbers. So you are safe claiming any amount there too unless audited, in which case they could cross reference the 990 by your name. Don't know if they would even do that - they might just look at your Desktop Publisher-generated fake CAF receipt. Oh and your fake RE tax statement. The primary thing you have to report accurately are items that appear on forms that also go to the IRS. W-2's, 1098's and 1099's, K-1's, etc.
Hope all you laymen are taking notes. That's one thing about the new tax law - with less people being able to itemize, the risk of a little cheating has gone down. Now it's down to the real tax evaders - like our POTUS and his pals.
So I can cheat on my taxes that easily, and with no risk?
If I’d realized that, I would have run for president years ago.
First if all it's not fraud, You people have the wrong approach to filing taxes like you are going to end up in jail. Just make sure you file your returns each year and play by the rules. It's a game, just like football, let's use pass interference as an example, a lot of gray area in PI calls, sometimes you can hold and bump it's not called interference or holding, other times you may get the penalty flag. Fraud is making stuff up or claiming a deduction for something that was never made. Claiming a deduction and having documentation to support it is not fraud, just because the IRS may or may not allow that deduction, worst case their ruling comes with a penalty. Just like pass interference, if it's not called, good for you, if it is, it's 15 yards, and you a prepared to deal with it. Same thing with taxes, if they don't like your deduction, worst case it's a penalty, and you pay it. It's not cheating, it's not fraud, like the IRS wants you to believe, it's playing a game, just be prepared to pay the consequence if they make a call you don't agree with.
Uh huh. And speeding is not a moving violation unless you get caught. Then it's just a difference of opinion between you and the radar gun.
Your analogy is way off base. There are certainly different interpretations of taxability/deductibility of certain items, but nothing like the examples we were discussing. The IRS and tax law say you can't deduct season ticket-related donations. You do anyway. That is black and white wrong. Fraud may be too strong of a word, but wrong is wrong.
If the season tickets are donated to a charity it's tax deductible. If checks are made payable to the WSU Foundation they are tax deductible. If checks are made payable to the WSU school of business school or any other school they are tax deductible. What makes you think the IRS is correct in arbitrarily singling out the athletic programs recently, when it was fine for the past 100+ years?, worst case you could write them off as a business expense, now they won't even allow legitimate business expense, for salaried employees to be written off as they have eliminated the 2106 form. The IRS should be and needs to be challenged on many rules, as they are not consistently applied. You can stay in your lane and do 55, if that's where your comfort level is, while others pave the road for you. Just because others have a different opinion, approach, or viewpoint, does not make them frauds or cheaters. Some people think outside the box, some people can't
Last edited:
I think rose has a legit argument for the deduction if a separate check is written to the CAF as a donation then he purchases the tickets at a later date. You could argue in good faith the donation was intended to support athletic scholarships (especially if it exceeds the minimum seat back requirements). Intent is a big grey area here.
I'm a fan of the increased standard deduction. Saves the IRS a lot of trouble chasing down audits and arbitrarily applying rules and focusing on legit fraud.
I'm a fan of the increased standard deduction. Saves the IRS a lot of trouble chasing down audits and arbitrarily applying rules and focusing on legit fraud.
I wouldn't recommend following Al Capone's actions in life and commit hundreds if not thousands of crimes and then hire accountants to try to make your earnings look legal (and much smaller than they were). I do pay close to $50k per year in taxes in total (counting income, property, etc).....so if I know a guy who saved about $400 per year by just claiming based on the information he received....I wouldn't fault him for it.
First of all, I agree with you 100% on your last comment.
Second, you guys are so funny. Whether we think the IRS should be able to make the rules or not, in fact they do (or rather they enforce the rules passed by our elected Congress, who typically have no idea what a cluster they are voting for). Your premium season tickets require a certain level of CAF donation (let's say $100) to purchase. The IRS says that this identified level ($100) is no longer deductible. There is no grey area here. NONE. You write the CAF a check for $1000? Wonderful - $900 of it is deductible. There is absolutely -0- argument, legit, good faith or otherwise to this. It is as black and white as it gets.
But hell I don't care. I don't itemize, and I don't have season tickets. I do need to renew my CAF membership though. Note to self - inch that wallet out of your pocket, Loyal.....
