Education

MichaelL1 · ‎May 31, 2019

You are correct that 80% is allowed for University donations like yours.

The 50% is describing what type of charity (there are two classes, 50% and 30%). What this means is that your charitable contribution in your case,you can deduct up to 50% of your Adjusted Gross Income. Then if it exceeds that, it is getting carried over the next tax year.

"Limitations on Deductions

In general, contributions to charitable organizations may be deducted up to 50 percent of adjusted gross income computed without regard to net operating loss carrybacks."

Source: https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/charitable-organizations/charitable-contribution-deduction...

"Carryovers: You can carry over any contributions you can't deduct in the current year because they exceed your adjusted gross income limits. You may be able to deduct the excess in each of the next 5 years until it is used up, but not beyond that time."

Source: page 17, https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p526.pdf

Special Rules for Universities

If you make a donation to a university that grants you the right to buy tickets to an athletic event, only 80 percent of the donation is deductible. For example, if you give $20,000 to your alma mater in exchange for the right to purchase football season tickets, you can deduct only $16,000. However, if any portion of the donation is in exchange for the tickets themselves, you cannot deduct that portion. For example, if you donate $20,000 and receive football season tickets worth $1,000, your deduction is only $19,000.