Donations/ repayment??

[jawnn]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? washington


I get SSI and I want to recieve donations to build bicycles and give them a way free to poeple that can not aford them.

Would I have to pay what ever I get from 'kikstarter' to he feds?

The only resaon I am worried about this is that they made me pay them $500 that my grand mother gave me once years ago.

 

[Proserpina]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? washington


I get SSI and I want to recieve donations to build bicycles and give them a way free to poeple that can not aford them.

Would I have to pay what ever I get from 'kikstarter' to he feds?

The only resaon I am worried about this is that they made me pay them $500 that my grand mother gave me once years ago.

You have to report all income.

 

[tranquility]

You have to report all income.

While true, what is "income"? (Don't answer, rhetorical question often asked by tax law professors the first class.)

That does not mean I know the answer to the question as it probably requires a bit of research in both SSI and tax law. If the OP actually started a non-profit organization he would be fine. I'm thinking he wants to do this by himself. There, could this be a gift to him? While gifts don't have strings as a rule, if he was merely acting as a conduit...

The problem is that without the 501(c)(3) designation the donations would not be deductible by the giver. And, if he took the gifts with the intent to profit, I believe we had an I Love Lucy with a similar theme.

 

[Zigner]

If you are able to "work" at building/repairing bikes to donate, then why can't you "work" at building/repairing bikes to sell?

 

[BL]

If you are able to "work" at building/repairing bikes to donate, then why can't you "work" at building/repairing bikes to sell?

Or work in a bicycle shop ? , or both.

 

[justalayman]

If you are able to "work" at building/repairing bikes to donate, then why can't you "work" at building/repairing bikes to sell?

Or work in a bicycle shop ? , or both.

maybe he can but maybe he can only do it for an hour every 24 hours or 1./2 hour or 1/4 hour. Being able to do something, without definition, does not mean they would be able to do is such that it would allow them to be employed at that same task.

as to selling the bikes; sure but that kind of defeats the purpose of giving them to people that cannot afford them. Of course a person on SSI is allowed to earn some money. As long as his income did not disqualify him, what benefit would there be to anybody? It would only serve to defeat the purpose of what he is attempting to do.


but to the question of; what is income in regards to an SSI recipient, we have this from http://www.ssa.gov/ssi/text-income-ussi.htm

WHAT IS INCOME?


Earned Income is wages, net earnings from self–employment, certain royalties and honoraria, and sheltered workshop payments.

Unearned Income is all income that is not earned, such as Social Security benefits, pensions, State disability payments, unemployment benefits, interest income, and cash from friends and relatives.

In–Kind Income is food or shelter that you get for free or less than its fair market value.

Deemed Income is the part of the income of your spouse with whom you live, your parent(s) with whom you live, or your sponsor (if you are an alien), which we use to compute your SSI benefit amount.

just as important is what is not considered to be income:


WHAT INCOME DOES NOT COUNT FOR SSI?

Examples of payments or services we do not count as income for the SSI program include but are not limited to:

the first $20 of most income received in a month;

the first $65 of earnings and one–half of earnings over $65 received in a month;

the value of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamps) received;

income tax refunds;

home energy assistance;

assistance based on need funded by a State or local government, or an Indian tribe;

small amounts of income received irregularly or infrequently;

iterest or dividends earned on countable resources or resources excluded under other Federal laws;

grants, scholarships, fellowships or gifts used for tuition and educational expenses;

food or shelter based on need provided by nonprofit agencies;

loans to you (cash or in–kind) that you have to repay;

money someone else spends to pay your expenses for items other than food or shelter (for example, someone pays your telephone or medical bills);

income set aside under a Plan to Achieve Self–Support (PASS). See the SSI Spotlight on Plans to Achieve Self–Support;

earnings up to $1,730 per month to a maximum of $6,960 per year (effective January 2013) for a student under age 22. See the SSI Spotlight on Student Earned Income Exclusion;

the cost of impairment–related work expenses for items or services that a disabled person needs in order to work. See the SSI Spotlight on Impairment–Related Work Expenses;

the cost of work expenses that a blind person incurs in order to work. See the SSI Spotlight on Special SSI Rule for Blind People Who Work;

disaster assistance;

the first $2,000 of compensation received per calendar year for participating in certain clinical trials;

federal tax refunds and advanced tax credits received on or after January 1, 2010; and

certain exclusions on Indian trust fund payments paid to American Indians who are members of a federally recognized tribe.

Now discuss and record your resulting opinions below.

 

[Dave1952]

If the "Kickstarter" goes to you then it's your income. If you start a business and the money goes to it then it's not your income.
Have you considered working out a deal with the Salvation Army or some other charity to have them act as a front for your charitable work?

 

[jawnn]

This is conceivable but it does involve some one else.

Have you considered working out a deal with the Salvation Army or some other charity to have them act as a front for your charitable work?