Trust deduction for charitable donations

[merlin00]

I am now in charge of 3 irrevocable trusts. Each lists multiple beneficiaries that are 501c3 charities. Is that in itself considered "explicit authorization to donate to charities" (IRS requirement for deductions) or does it also need to be stated elsewhere in the trust documents??

The trusts all earned under $10k in interest income, and each is donating tens of thousands to 501c3 charities. I just want to know if I'm going to have to do a bunch of K-1s or if the income can be completely zeroed out by these donations. Being on the list of beneficiaries seems pretty EXPLICIT, but then again I don't trust anything anymore when it comes to the IRS!

Thank you.

[tagteam]

The requirements for a trust to take a charitable deduction on Form 1041are the charity must be an eligible charity, the governing document (trust provision) must authorize the contribution, and the contribution must come not from principal (corpus) but from income. 

Again, you might want to consult a local tax professional. 

See https://taxexperts.naea.org/expertdirectory

[merlin00]

So is the charity being listed as a beneficiary then "authorizing" charitable donations? 

Also, if the income is $8000 and the donation is $30,000 then how am I supposed to prove that it was all income and no principle? 

[tagteam]

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@merlin00 wrote:

Also, if the income is $8000 and the donation is $30,000 then how am I supposed to prove that it was all income and no principle? 

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Via the language in the governing instrument,