As Published in Action Line: Recent Cases Deny Charitable Income Tax Deductions: CWA Revisited

As Published in Action Line: A Publication of the Florida Bar Real Property, Probate & Trust Law Section, Winter 2023 Edition

Co-Authored by: Alyssa R. Wan

In recent cases, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) denied taxpayers several significant charitable deductions, even where there is no dispute that a gift was made to a charitable organization, on a technicality — the failure to substantiate such gifts with a contemporaneous written acknowledgment that meets all of the requirements set forth in the Internal Revenue Code (“Code”) and Treasury Regulations. The courts do not have equitable jurisdiction to otherwise uphold the deduction and accordingly have ruled in favor of the IRS in these cases. This article reviews the requirements for a contemporaneous written acknowledgment regarding certain types of donations and discusses recent case law where such requirements were not satisfied.

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