Hello! I am posted in Canada on a U.S. Govt job so I derive income from the U.S. only. I'd like to give charitable gifts of money to charities in Canada that would qualify as a charity by the IRS. Can I claim those gifts as an itemized expense on my 1040? Or since I don't have Canadian income, am I not eligible to deduct those?
Thank you very much!
If the Canadian charity is a recognized charitable organization you can deduct your contribution on Form 1040 Schedule A. You would need Canadian income to have your charitable contribution to the Canadian charity deducted on a US tax return.
Use this IRS Exempt Organizations Select Search Tool to verify that the organization is a recognized charity for tax deduction purposes - https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/exempt-organizations-select-check
If the Canadian charity is a recognized charitable organization you can deduct your contribution on Form 1040 Schedule A. You would need Canadian income to have your charitable contribution to the Canadian charity deducted on a US tax return.
Use this IRS Exempt Organizations Select Search Tool to verify that the organization is a recognized charity for tax deduction purposes - https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/exempt-organizations-select-check
For the most part, the only "Qualified Organizations" are US based. You can check the IRS link, but most Canadian charitable organizations do NOT count.
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.irs.gov/publications/p526/ar02.html#en_US_2015_publink1000229641">https://www.irs.gov/publications/p526/ar02.html#en_US_2015_publink1000229641</a>
The exception is if you have Canadian income AND it is an organization that is covered in the US-Canada Tax Treaty.
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.irs.gov/publications/p526/ar02.html#en_US_2015_publink1000229645">https://www.irs.gov/publications/p526/ar02.html#en_US_2015_publink1000229645</a>
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-trty/canada.pdf#page=25">https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-trty/canada.pdf#page=25</a>
Another lesson learned on Canadian sourced income for charities....Thanks again Bill.