| Author |
Message |
Brenda1966
Member
07-02-2002
| Friday, December 09, 2016 - 3:19 pm 
I wish I got a $2 tax break for every dollar donated. I'd donate ten thousand dollars to planned parenthood tomorrow! 
From what I recall when I itemized, your donations will reduce your taxable income. So, if you donated $300, your taxable income would be reduced by $300. If you are taxed at the rate of 25%, you owe 75 less in taxes.
but yes, your itemization total has to be more than your standard deduction would be, or there is no sense in itemizing. If you don't have a mortgage or huge medical expenses, you may not even be itemizing.
|
Dipo
Member
04-23-2002
| Friday, December 09, 2016 - 5:44 pm
Oh, I definitely have more than enough to itemize. Just want a general answer instead of having to do my taxes already, LOL.
Brenda, I wish that was true as well. I just thought there might be some sort of general formula.
|
Dipo
Member
04-23-2002
| Friday, December 09, 2016 - 5:45 pm
And I have both....mortgage interest and high medical premiums.
|
Grooch
Member
06-16-2006
| Friday, December 09, 2016 - 5:52 pm
My guess would be to go see a financial advisor. He can tell you the best thing to do. I believe they are tax deductible too.
|
Kitt
Member
09-05-2000
| Friday, December 09, 2016 - 5:59 pm
Brenda's covered it, but to put it in numbers...
Step 1: Do you itemize your deductions? You do that if your itemizable deductions (mostly state tax paid, property tax, mortgage interest) in the year is more than your standard deduction, which is $6300 if you're single, $12600 if you're married.
---> If you do not itemize our deductions you get NO benefit from any charitable deductions unless your charitable deductions, when added to your existing itemizable deductions, take you to more than your standard deduction (see above). i.e. if you're single and had $6000 of mortgage interest you wouldn't itemize as $6000<$6300 standard deduction. But if you then had $1000 of charitable donations then $6000+$1000>$6300 so you'd want to itemize afterall.
---> If you DO itemize then yes, you get a benefit from your charitable deductions, see Step 2.
Step 2:
A) estimate your AGI
B) subtract from it your standard deduction ($6300 single, $12600 married)
C) subtract from it $4050 for every person on your tax return (i.e. $4050 if just you, $8100 you and a husband, $12150 if you, husband, child)
D) use tax rate schedules like the ones here https://www.irs.com/articles/2016-federal-tax-rates-personal-exemptions-and-standard-deductions and look up the number (AGI - deduction - exemps) for your filing status and look across to the percentage tax bracket you're in.
And that's your answer, whatever tax bracket you're in, e.g. 25%, multiplied by your charitable deductions that are above the standard deduction, gives you your tax savings.
|
Kitt
Member
09-05-2000
| Friday, December 09, 2016 - 6:02 pm
Took me a while to type so I missed your earlier reply, but I see you do itemize. As that is the case, just do the Step 2 part above and you should get your answer.
By the way, if your donations are high you might need more evidence, as they're quite strict these days. Below $250 you can just keep the normal receipts, but for some large items you need a valuation, and for cash donations you need a letter back from the organisation with the date and amount.
|
Kitt
Member
09-05-2000
| Friday, December 09, 2016 - 6:04 pm
Oh, and this year you can only deduct medical above 10% of your AGI (used to be 2.5%) so be prepared for that. It's 7.5% if you're older than.... 55 I think?? Might be 65.
|
Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Friday, December 09, 2016 - 8:11 pm
I knew Kitt would find this!
|
Dipo
Member
04-23-2002
| Saturday, December 10, 2016 - 6:41 pm
Thanks. I always have receipts for my donations, I have some I give to every year. Just finished doing a big goodwill donation and I have photos of all the stuff as well. But I do that every year as well.
|
Dipo
Member
04-23-2002
| Monday, December 12, 2016 - 6:29 pm
New Q: Is there a way to figure out how Uber/Lyft charges for trips? I have my sister running me around, I don't drive, and it occurs to me I should pay her like I would if I took uber/lyft. My other thought is to just give her $20 per day.
But I wanted to see if there was a way on my phone, its and LG, that I could track the miles or time and then make sure I compensate her appropriately.
Thanks if you have any idea, LOL.
|
Jmm
Moderator
08-15-2002
| Monday, December 12, 2016 - 6:38 pm
Dipo, you might start here. Uber Estimates
|
Dipo
Member
04-23-2002
| Monday, December 12, 2016 - 7:06 pm
OH thank you Jmm.
Does anyone know if my phone can track miles?
|
Jmm
Moderator
08-15-2002
| Monday, December 12, 2016 - 8:15 pm
You have a stopwatch app on your lg. http://www.lg.com/us/mobile-phones/VS930/JB/Userguide/tools_using_the_stopwatch.html
|
Jmm
Moderator
08-15-2002
| Monday, December 12, 2016 - 8:16 pm
Still looking for a mileage tracking app.
|
Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Monday, December 12, 2016 - 8:27 pm
I don't use my phone to track mileage but I know they do. I just prefer to keep my phone off and I have a Fitbit.
For sure IPhones have apps for that. I think even my phone does..
|
Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Monday, December 12, 2016 - 8:30 pm
TripLog is an Android Mileage Log Tracker App.
|
Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Monday, December 12, 2016 - 8:32 pm
Oops that might be for a car.. which might be what you want, but there are also apps for walking and mileage.
|
Grooch
Member
06-16-2006
| Monday, December 12, 2016 - 8:47 pm
Can you use google maps on your computer? Just put in your starting point and your destination and it will tell you how many miles and show you the route.
|
Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Monday, December 12, 2016 - 8:57 pm
LOL.. I thought I'd scrolled up but didn't see the question..
I imagine uber and Lyft drivers have apps or use a map app.
Of course I find that all the map apps have flaws and I often don't choose the same route that they choose.
Same with my GPS in the car, which I haven't used often but when I do and it might give me three choices and I may not follow any of them.
So my mileage may vary.
And some of the glitches..
We have one ride request for Road to Recovery and for some reason it takes a perfectly legitimate address in Garden Grove CA.. I've looked that address up using other apps.. but the app used by ACS Service Match software, for this one ride (which is repeated daily on the schedule) tells us to drive to Sugar Land Texas!
<snort>
MapQuest used to always insist that I could take my street, crash through a fence and across a canal and through someone's back yard to get to an address within my city, just a mile or so away.
it also ignored a freeway entrance going north on a major street near me onto the 405 and instead tells the user to turn left across a center divider and cross lanes to get on the freeway from southbound on that street.
So.. how accurate..
Now if the app just tracks where the vehicle actually drives, that works for how many miles driven but the driver could use the time "honored" cabbie ploy of taking a longer than necessary route and charging for it.
|
Dipo
Member
04-23-2002
| Tuesday, December 13, 2016 - 2:19 pm
Lots of great info, thanks so much, I am just learning about what my phone can do, LOL. It was only a couple of months ago that I found the alarm, hahahaha.
|
Dipo
Member
04-23-2002
| Tuesday, December 13, 2016 - 2:20 pm
NEW Q: I am putting together some documents and I have to copy and paste a lot. Once I do that I have to take my hand off the mouse and press enter to put a line/space between the two items.
It occurred to me, IS there a way to put a space/click enter, using the mouse?
|
Jimmer
Moderator
08-30-2000
| Tuesday, December 13, 2016 - 3:13 pm
I don't think there is any way to do it with a regular mouse. Some have extra buttons where you can assign keystrokes and commands to those buttons. You could consider getting one of those.
As a temporary solution, I suppose you could try hitting the enter key using your other hand so you wouldn't have to go back and forth.
|
Dipo
Member
04-23-2002
| Tuesday, December 13, 2016 - 3:19 pm
LOL, Jimmer, I do sometimes switch up the hand for the enter key. It's not a big deal just something I thought about while working away.
|
Jimmer
Moderator
08-30-2000
| Tuesday, December 13, 2016 - 3:24 pm
LOL something similar ... years ago, a work colleague / computer guru suggested that I use my left hand for the mouse so I could write with my right hand (I'm right handed). So I thought, that's a brilliant idea and started using my left hand, which was very awkward at first. Now I'm so good at it, I'm better using the mouse with my left hand than my right hand.
|
Ophiliasgrandma
Member
09-04-2001
| Tuesday, December 13, 2016 - 4:19 pm
I was so happy to get rid of that mouse. A track pad is much better for me.
|
|
