Verify the charity’s tax status.

An organization must have federal tax exempt status for your donation to be tax deductible. Make sure the organization you’re donating to qualifies, especially if it is one you’ve never given to before. The easiest way to verify is to ask whether they have received a 501(c)(3) determination letter from the IRS. You can look up many organizations on the IRS website to see if they have been declared a “public charity,” which is the designation they receive when the 501(c)(3) application is approved. Churches, by their nature, are tax exempt under federal law. Some charities may not have their own 501(c)(3) determination letter but instead fall under the tax exempt umbrella of another related charity.

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