10/22/2026
𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗚: 𝗡𝗬 𝗜𝘀 𝗖𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗗𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀!
Do you put $10, $20, or $50 cash in the offering plate at church each week?
If you claim those donations on your tax return, you will have a problem if NY audits your charitable contributions.
Based on recent dealings with the NY Department of Taxation and Finance, we're seeing increasingly aggressive demands for documentation.
𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺: How do you prove you put $20 cash in the offering plate every Sunday? A year-end giving statement from your church is insufficient for NY. NY is requiring proof of the actual payments, such as canceled checks, bank statements, or credit card records. Without this proof, NY is disallowing those deductions, even though you actually made the donations.
𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Do NOT make charitable contributions in cash. Use a check, debit/credit card, or electronic giving platform so you have a verifiable record of each donation. Keep those payment records along with your charity's annual contribution statement.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗺 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲: Making a charitable contribution and being able to prove it are two very different things. Don't lose a legitimate tax deduction because you can't document it!