@ShawntellParr wrote:
What if the organization pays a salary to the founder? Is it still favorable to donate to your own non-profit then?
If you receive a salary from a charity, you are allowed to donate some of that money back and claim a tax deduction. However, because the effect of itemized deductions is limited by various factors, it might be more tax benefit to you to take a smaller salary instead.
To avoid the appearance of self-dealing, if you do donate money back, have some other responsible person sign the receipt.
Also, you can't designate the donation for a specific purpose. If you donate funds to the general operating account and they are available to be used for any purpose decided by the charity, that's fine. But if you retain control over the money and say "this money can only be used for this specific purpose that is a priority to me" that will usually not be tax-deductible. Decisions about how to spend the money should usually not be made by the person who donates the money. There should be a board or committee that makes those decisions.
