Have you ever wondered if your donations to the Girl Scouts for their famous cookies are tax deductible? Well, let me clarify for you.

The Girl Scout “Cookies from Home” program caught my attention and raised an important question. In response, I shared my initial thoughts on Twitter. Due to the character limit, my reply was brief but here’s the expanded version:

You are viewing: Are Girl Scout Cookies Tax Deductible?

To qualify as a charitable gift, a donation must be made to a charitable organization without any strings attached. If there are any benefits received by the donor, apart from warm feelings, the value of those benefits must be subtracted from the value of the gift. For example, if you pay $100 for a charity dinner, but the value of the dinner is $30, then your charitable donation is $70.

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Now let’s apply this concept to the Girl Scouts. Girl Scouts of the USA is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. When you participate in the “Cookies from Home” program, you pay for a box of cookies that will be sent to our military personnel stationed abroad. The cost of these donated boxes is tax-deductible for you.

However, if you were to buy a box of cookies and give it directly to a homeless person or someone in need, it would not be tax-deductible. The key difference lies in the recipient of the donation – money or goods donated to an individual or noncharitable organization, no matter how deserving, cannot be deducted.

Now, let’s hear from the Girl Scouts themselves:

• Q: Is the purchase of Girl Scout Cookies tax-deductible?
• A: No and Yes.

If you keep the cookies for yourself, consuming them or taking them home, you have purchased a product at its fair market value. Therefore, no part of the price you paid for that box of cookies is tax-deductible.

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On the other hand, if you leave the cookies with the Girl Scouts, many Scouts ask customers to pay for one or more boxes of cookies to use in community service projects or “gifts of caring.” For example, the donations may go towards collecting food for a local food pantry. In this case, the customers who do not receive any cookies directly from their purchase can treat the payment as a charitable contribution.

So, if you’re feeling generous and want to contribute, consider donating the cost of a box of Girl Scout cookies. Just remember to keep your receipt for tax purposes.

Before you go, please read my disclaimer. As a lawyer, I am inclined to include disclaimers. If you have any more questions, feel free to Ask The Taxgirl.

Keep supporting worthy causes, and enjoy those delicious Girl Scout cookies!

Source: https://t-tees.com
Category: Blog