How do you track charitable Lego donations?

[HappyHawkeye]

Hi folks - 

My family & some others are raising money this year to build a well in Africa. We have a big goal, so we have been dong some creative things as a way to help raise the money. This month we are hosting an event that will include a raffle, and I plan to donate some Lego sets to the cause. Which brought up some questions:

- In this case, since I'm not giving the sets directly to a non-profit , how I would track this giving since I won't have a receipt of any kind for tax purposes? Do I just record it as a loss to my overall profits for the year? 

- What do I use for a donation amount here? Do I just use my cost paid? Do I use current market value?

I'd love to get your feedback & advice on how you've handled your own donations....thanks!

[Phil B]

12 minutes ago, HappyHawkeye said:

Hi folks - 

My family & some others are raising money this year to build a well in Africa. We have a big goal, so we have been dong some creative things as a way to help raise the money. This month we are hosting an event that will include a raffle, and I plan to donate some Lego sets to the cause. Which brought up some questions:

- In this case, since I'm not giving the sets directly to a non-profit , how I would track this giving since I won't have a receipt of any kind for tax purposes? Do I just record it as a loss to my overall profits for the year? 

- What do I use for a donation amount here? Do I just use my cost paid? Do I use current market value?

I'd love to get your feedback & advice on how you've handled your own donations....thanks!

My non-LEGO business has donated items to a raffle this year, and my accountant told me it was just an expense on my budget - no special "donation" tax free status or anything. Now, this is for a sole proprietor LLC - I'm not sure if this holds for an individual as well. I do my LLC taxes as part of my "normal" taxes (i.e. my LLC is a disregarded entity) so it's likely to hold for an individual too. To make it a donation it would need to be given to an entity with a non-profit status.

Best way is to check with a professional though - IANAL.