Contributors must deliver checks on or by December 31st, 2015 in order to claim a charitable contribution deduction for 2015. Checks that are placed in the church offering during the first worship service in 2016 will not qualify for a charitable contribution deduction in 2015, even if the check is predated to 2015 or was actually written in 2015. However, checks that are written, mailed, and postmarked in 2015 will be deductible in 2015 though they are not received by the church until 2016.
The deadline for contributions received in the mail postmarked December 31, 2015 is January 5, 2016. Any contributions received after this date will be applied to 2016. To ensure the deductibility of your church contributions, please do not file your 2015 income tax return until you have received your year-end contribution statement from the church.
Under IRS rules, you may lose your deduction for some or all of your contributions if you file your tax return before receiving a written acknowledgement of your 2015 contributions from the church. Year-end contribution statements will be mailed and postmarked no later than January 31, 2016. If you have any questions, please see Lee Berry in the church office.
