Tax Bill against college donations?
- Thread starter dunkej01
- Start date
This is probably true, but my understanding is that people will have a standard deduction that is double of what it is today. The fact the CBO says the deficit will go up means that people will retain more of their work wages and pay less tax. Hence, people may have more cash to donate. It depends on how you look at it, but the plan is changing daily and we probably will not know for certain until once it is implemented.
The way I read it theres no more deduction for donations made for athletic tickets.Universities make tons of money off this stuff if you want premium seats youve to donate $1,000 per seat in order to buy them.That donation is no longer tax deductible.
PSUPTB86 has it right. The standard tax deduction as of now will double. That means you save a great portion of your money and will have more to purchase tickets and donate and still have money left over. Big question is, do you need the incentive by way of a tax deduction to donate/buy tickets and in the end probably have less money, vs donating/buying tickets without a deduction and in the end probably have more money?
You only get the charitable deduction if you itemize. Since the standard deduction is doubling, far fewer people will benefit from itemizing, and that deduction would no longer be added
double the standard, eliminate the personal. which shell is that bean under?
The people the ADs are contacting do not use the standard deduction.
Dear Nittany Lion Club member,
Season’s greetings from Happy Valley! You may be aware that the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate have both passed bills proposing changes to the current tax code. Historically, the IRS has allowed for 80% of donations required for ticket purchases to be charitable, or tax-deductible, for many people who itemize their tax deductions. As representatives from Congress meet in conference over the coming days and weeks to discuss the differences, I want you to be aware that both versions have proposed the elimination of the tax-deductible portion of the gifts you make associated with the purchase of tickets to Penn State games. If the bill comes to fruition, it is proposed that this change could take effect as early as January 1, 2018. Since everyone files their taxes differently, it is important that you talk with your tax advisors about any impact these changes could have on you.
We are grateful for the generous support you provide to Penn State Athletics when you make gifts to support our student-athletes. All giving to the Nittany Lion Club, whether associated with your ability to purchase tickets or otherwise, have played a critical role in providing the resources necessary for student-athletes’ success. While we cannot forecast whether the proposed tax reforms will come to fruition, we will continue to follow its progress and the implications it could have on generous donors like you.
Please be advised that Penn State will not make any changes to the current donation requirements for 2018. We are monitoring and evaluating this and will communicate any future changes to required contributions beyond 2018 when we have more information and it is appropriate to do so. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact the Nittany Lion Club with any questions you might have.
If you would like to make your required contribution for the 2018 season this calendar year, thus taking advantage of the tax deductibility of your gift, please feel free to do so by calling 1-800-NITTANY M-F 8am-5pm.
Thank you again for everything you do to help prepare Penn State student-athletes for a lifetime of impact. I wish you and your family a joyous holiday season and look forward to great things for the Nittany Lions in 2018.
WE ARE!
Sandy Barbour
Director of Athletics
Season’s greetings from Happy Valley! You may be aware that the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate have both passed bills proposing changes to the current tax code. Historically, the IRS has allowed for 80% of donations required for ticket purchases to be charitable, or tax-deductible, for many people who itemize their tax deductions. As representatives from Congress meet in conference over the coming days and weeks to discuss the differences, I want you to be aware that both versions have proposed the elimination of the tax-deductible portion of the gifts you make associated with the purchase of tickets to Penn State games. If the bill comes to fruition, it is proposed that this change could take effect as early as January 1, 2018. Since everyone files their taxes differently, it is important that you talk with your tax advisors about any impact these changes could have on you.
We are grateful for the generous support you provide to Penn State Athletics when you make gifts to support our student-athletes. All giving to the Nittany Lion Club, whether associated with your ability to purchase tickets or otherwise, have played a critical role in providing the resources necessary for student-athletes’ success. While we cannot forecast whether the proposed tax reforms will come to fruition, we will continue to follow its progress and the implications it could have on generous donors like you.
Please be advised that Penn State will not make any changes to the current donation requirements for 2018. We are monitoring and evaluating this and will communicate any future changes to required contributions beyond 2018 when we have more information and it is appropriate to do so. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact the Nittany Lion Club with any questions you might have.
If you would like to make your required contribution for the 2018 season this calendar year, thus taking advantage of the tax deductibility of your gift, please feel free to do so by calling 1-800-NITTANY M-F 8am-5pm.
Thank you again for everything you do to help prepare Penn State student-athletes for a lifetime of impact. I wish you and your family a joyous holiday season and look forward to great things for the Nittany Lions in 2018.
WE ARE!
Sandy Barbour
Director of Athletics
Dear TIDE PRIDE Donor,
Thank you for your continued investment as a season ticket holder and TIDE PRIDE member. Your attendance on game days ensures a great atmosphere at Crimson Tide events and your financial support provides the necessary resources for Alabama to retain our position as a leader in collegiate athletics.
We would like to inform you about some impending legislation that could impact you as a TIDE PRIDE member. The U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate have each passed their respective versions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act with some key differences. The next step in the legislative process is for the House-Senate conference committee to reconcile differences between the bills and produce new legislation to be voted on in both chambers.
Currently, preferred seat donations such as the contribution you make to TIDE PRIDE are considered 80% tax deductible under IRS code. Both the House and Senate versions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act currently eliminate the existing deductibility of charitable contributions to organizations such as TIDE PRIDE when a donor receives seating rights in exchange for the contribution.
While the deadline to make your contribution to TIDE PRIDE remains February 1st, you might consider making your contribution prior to December 31, 2017, in anticipation of these potential changes in tax law and consulting with your own tax advisors to determine whether this opportunity is of value to you.
In addition to the TIDE PRIDE tax deductibility issues, we do not currently know how (or if) your contributions to the Crimson Tide Foundation (CTF) will be impacted by this legislation, should it pass. Currently, your CTF gifts are receipted at 80% if you accept Tide Totals Priority Points for the contribution. The final language of the bill will determine if gifts with associated benefits, such as points, will be impacted. As you discuss your options regarding this legislation with your tax professional, you might consider also discussing your 2018 contribution plans to determine if a gift prior to December 31, 2017, would potentially benefit you.
Should this legislation pass, the TIDE PRIDE program will still continue for the 2018-2019 season in all applicable sports. We are currently assessing the situation in order to analyze the potential impact and discussing how to move forward should this legislation become law.
Thank you for your continued support of TIDE PRIDE, the Crimson Tide Foundation and Alabama Athletics. We will communicate any updates regarding the proposed legislation as they become available.
Roll Tide,
Greg Byrne
Director of Athletics
Thank you for your continued investment as a season ticket holder and TIDE PRIDE member. Your attendance on game days ensures a great atmosphere at Crimson Tide events and your financial support provides the necessary resources for Alabama to retain our position as a leader in collegiate athletics.
We would like to inform you about some impending legislation that could impact you as a TIDE PRIDE member. The U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate have each passed their respective versions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act with some key differences. The next step in the legislative process is for the House-Senate conference committee to reconcile differences between the bills and produce new legislation to be voted on in both chambers.
Currently, preferred seat donations such as the contribution you make to TIDE PRIDE are considered 80% tax deductible under IRS code. Both the House and Senate versions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act currently eliminate the existing deductibility of charitable contributions to organizations such as TIDE PRIDE when a donor receives seating rights in exchange for the contribution.
While the deadline to make your contribution to TIDE PRIDE remains February 1st, you might consider making your contribution prior to December 31, 2017, in anticipation of these potential changes in tax law and consulting with your own tax advisors to determine whether this opportunity is of value to you.
In addition to the TIDE PRIDE tax deductibility issues, we do not currently know how (or if) your contributions to the Crimson Tide Foundation (CTF) will be impacted by this legislation, should it pass. Currently, your CTF gifts are receipted at 80% if you accept Tide Totals Priority Points for the contribution. The final language of the bill will determine if gifts with associated benefits, such as points, will be impacted. As you discuss your options regarding this legislation with your tax professional, you might consider also discussing your 2018 contribution plans to determine if a gift prior to December 31, 2017, would potentially benefit you.
Should this legislation pass, the TIDE PRIDE program will still continue for the 2018-2019 season in all applicable sports. We are currently assessing the situation in order to analyze the potential impact and discussing how to move forward should this legislation become law.
Thank you for your continued support of TIDE PRIDE, the Crimson Tide Foundation and Alabama Athletics. We will communicate any updates regarding the proposed legislation as they become available.
Roll Tide,
Greg Byrne
Director of Athletics
To me, as a cpa, this seems like this is getting blown out of proportion by ADs wanting to accelerate donation receipts into December of 2017. None of the wealthy donors who compose a huge portion of programs donations will be affected by the doubling of the standard deduction. They will have enough other itemized deductions to get themselves over the standard deduction.
These new regulations for premium seating honestly make sense from a common sense standpoint (not very common in our tax system). They would now mirror the rules for charitable events. For example, if you pay $100 a plate at a charitable dinner when the fair market value of that meal was $20, your charitable deduction would be $80. Why would the premium seats be fully tax deductible when tickets to charitable galas, diners, etc aren't?
At the end of the day, ADs may need to get creative to maximize donations from some donors who value sitting in the right row on btn or flo. However, anyone in the wrestling (collegiate sports) community that is making this out to be gloom and doom is either exaggerating or not understanding the yet to be enacted tax legislation.
Ps: the current version of the bill drops the top tax bracket from 39.6% to 37%. The top income earners (read top donors) will now keep an extra 2.6% of their taxable income. That benefit will far outweigh any detriment suffered by wealthy donors who can no longer deduct the price of their event seat(s).
These new regulations for premium seating honestly make sense from a common sense standpoint (not very common in our tax system). They would now mirror the rules for charitable events. For example, if you pay $100 a plate at a charitable dinner when the fair market value of that meal was $20, your charitable deduction would be $80. Why would the premium seats be fully tax deductible when tickets to charitable galas, diners, etc aren't?
At the end of the day, ADs may need to get creative to maximize donations from some donors who value sitting in the right row on btn or flo. However, anyone in the wrestling (collegiate sports) community that is making this out to be gloom and doom is either exaggerating or not understanding the yet to be enacted tax legislation.
Ps: the current version of the bill drops the top tax bracket from 39.6% to 37%. The top income earners (read top donors) will now keep an extra 2.6% of their taxable income. That benefit will far outweigh any detriment suffered by wealthy donors who can no longer deduct the price of their event seat(s).
Congress is rearranging the winners and losers in the tax game. My read is if you donate and that donation is tied in seats, in 2018, the donation no longer qualifies as an itemized deduction. If you never itemize, the new law has no effect on you.
If you do donate with seats and you itemize, as both the house and Senate bills are stripping the donation for tax purposes the final bill will mostly likely go against you and strip the donation.
As such, for that group that donates, has seats and itemizes and will continue to donate next year (2018) it is prudent to accelerate that donation to the 2017 tax year, so you can still get the deduction this year. That is my take for what it's worth but I don't know how such colleges will accept such donations for seat purposes.
If you do donate with seats and you itemize, as both the house and Senate bills are stripping the donation for tax purposes the final bill will mostly likely go against you and strip the donation.
As such, for that group that donates, has seats and itemizes and will continue to donate next year (2018) it is prudent to accelerate that donation to the 2017 tax year, so you can still get the deduction this year. That is my take for what it's worth but I don't know how such colleges will accept such donations for seat purposes.
I agree with you that folks who buy seats should buy next years' seats in the next 2 and a half weeks if possible to maximize their deduction (assuming they itemize). I think this legislation is more focusing on the BIG revenue college sports. For example, wealthy donor A contributes $200k/yr to Duke, UNC, or Kentucky and gets court side season tickets in exchange. Those seats would have a huge fair market value on the open market.
Now lets think about wrestling. Wealthy donor B gives $50k/yr to PSU wrestling. They also receive first row seats for their generosity. What are the fair market value of those tickets? Maybe a grand a seat? $2k tops? Lets say it roughly a grand a seat and the donor currently receives 2 tickets. The AD could sell those same seats to that donor at their fair market value (2 seats @ $1,000 each) as season tickets. Then that donor turns around and donates $48k. They are still out the same amount of $ ($50k) and they only lost $2k in tax deductions. Most smaller wrestling schools couldn't sell priority seating at events for more than a couple hundred bucks so those donors would be effected even less so. Without getting political, does this really seem like a huge deal to the mostly high bracket folks who are big donors at our d1 wrestling programs? It seems like the ADs are be sweating about the potential loss of big basketball/football donors because this 'perks' tax deduction is going away.
It's changing frequently. However, while the standard deduction will double, I don't think that the effect is double since other deductions will be eliminated. I think I read somewhere that it would be about a 15% improvement for taxpayers. One of the goals is for less people to itemize. Under current rules I think the stat is that 36% of filed returns were itemized. I am all for them making it easier for me to prepare my taxes...with a 15% benefit to boot. We'll see if it works out that way in the final bill...if that goat rodeo that is our federal legislature can actually get it done.
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Many of those people are also subject to the AMT tax which also limits their deductions (believe that is correct, not a CPA). I thought that one side of the political spectrum was in favor of raising taxes on the wealthy?
Everyone is in favor of raising taxes on the wealthy...until they find out they ARE 'wealthy' by other people's definition.
Bingo. These letters are all about ADs shaking the revenue tree.
Once the bill is passed, ADs will have to find a different way to shake the revenue tree, but shake it they will.
Tax simplification is long overdue. If that means "non profit" businesses with trillion dollar endowments need to adjust, that's a shame.
Under the current version of the bill, the AMT thresholds are going way up. It will only potentially affect taxpayers making more than $500k a year ($1M for married filing jointly returns).
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