Charitable GALA ticket

Purchased 8 GALA tickets (a full table) 1 for myself and 7 guests. The donation was $100 for each ticket or $800 in total. Can I deduct the $700 for the guests and the FMV for myself e.g. $100 less $75 FMV of meal for $25 deduction and a total deduction of $725. Or can I only deduct $25 x 8 or $200?

posted

You don't get to deduct the value of the free dinners you gave to your party. If the FMV meal is $75 (this info must generally come from the charity), then your tax deductible donation is $25 x 8 = $200. You bought dinner for 7 friends at $75 each, that's never tax-deductible.