topic Can I document face masks made and donated to healthcare workers in Deductions & credits

Can I document face masks made and donated to healthcare workers

denawilliamson — Tue, 16 Feb 2021 03:44:33 GMT

I made over 300 face masks for health care workers and donated them. Can I count this as a deduction and where?

Re: Can I document face masks made and donated to healthcare workers

Bsch4477 — Tue, 16 Feb 2021 04:30:53 GMT

You can only deduct out of pocket expenses for a recognized charity so if you donated to a hospital you can deduct those costs. If audited you would have to produce some documentation of your donation. Deduct as a charitable donation if you itemize.

Re: Can I document face masks made and donated to healthcare workers

ThomasM125 — Tue, 16 Feb 2021 04:39:25 GMT

The only potential deduction associated with the donations would be as charitable contributions. However, those would have to be made to a tax exempt organization and even then, you could only deduct the cost of the materials you used to make the masks, not the value of them taking into consideration the time you spent to make them.

Re: Can I document face masks made and donated to healthcare workers

Opus 17 — Tue, 16 Feb 2021 04:39:28 GMT

You can deduct donations to a registered charitable organization. A nonprofit hospital is probably a registered exempt organization, but for-profit hospitals are not. You cannot deduct donations or gifts made to individual people, even if they are deserving. The donation must be to a registered organization. You can deduct the cost of the materials but you cannot deduct anything for the value of your time.

if audited, the IRS will require you to approve the cost of the materials, and to show some kind of acknowledgment from the organization that you made the donation, such as a letter.