Donations

[BustedBreaks]

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


I posted this in another section and it was suggested that I post this here:

I am interested in starting a youtube channel where I post instructional videos on topics in math and eventually scientific topics. I would also like to have some sort of donation button where people, who are so inclined, can donate money to my "cause". I am a college student who plans on spending a lot of time in school so I'd like to find a bunch of funding options, this being one. I would also like to donate some percentage of the donations, if I get any, to a organization. I want to make this transparent and legal lest people think that I'm asking for donations for myself under the guise of it going to charity. How should I go about doing this?

My legal questions include: In the event that I get donations, what do I have to do in terms of tax? Do I have to report this income if it's less than a certain amount? Does the fact that I'm giving some to an organization matter? I am planning on keeping detailed records of donations and keeping a site where I can make all of the relevant information available for anyone who wants to see it. I plan on providing proof of enrollment etc, anything and everything to show that I want and am genuinely trying to be honest about it all.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

[LdiJ]

Originally Posted by BustedBreaks

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


I posted this in another section and it was suggested that I post this here:

I am interested in starting a youtube channel where I post instructional videos on topics in math and eventually scientific topics. I would also like to have some sort of donation button where people, who are so inclined, can donate money to my "cause". I am a college student who plans on spending a lot of time in school so I'd like to find a bunch of funding options, this being one. I would also like to donate some percentage of the donations, if I get any, to a organization. I want to make this transparent and legal lest people think that I'm asking for donations for myself under the guise of it going to charity. How should I go about doing this?

My legal questions include: In the event that I get donations, what do I have to do in terms of tax? Do I have to report this income if it's less than a certain amount? Does the fact that I'm giving some to an organization matter? I am planning on keeping detailed records of donations and keeping a site where I can make all of the relevant information available for anyone who wants to see it. I plan on providing proof of enrollment etc, anything and everything to show that I want and am genuinely trying to be honest about it all.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

Any of the "donations" that you receive and use for your personal expenses or educational expenses are going to be taxable income to you. If you then turn around and donate money to charity, that will be a tax deduction for you, assuming that you donate enough and have enough other deductible expenses to file a Schedule A.

[BustedBreaks]

Let's say I receive $1000 (I have no delusions that I'll actually make that much) over the course of a month. My break down is 70% goes to my expenses and 30% will go to the organization.

The $1000 is immediately taxed. Then I donate $300 of whats left. What does it mean if that 300 is tax deductible?

Would it be smarter to say I will donate x% of your donations minus the tax I will pay on it? This way if I was taxed 25% of the $1000, I will keep 70% of 750 and donate 30% of 750?

Also, why exactly are the donations taxable?

If I were to instead just blatantly ask for people to give me money without providing anything in return, would that income be taxable? Doesn't a tax need to be on a service or good, or something like that?

[FlyingRon]

The donations are taxable because you aren't a charity nor are you using the donations for charitable purposes. If you mention a charitable purpose without mentioning the extent that the money won't be going to them, you're going to be in trouble as well.

[BustedBreaks]

Originally Posted by FlyingRon

The donations are taxable because you aren't a charity nor are you using the donations for charitable purposes. If you mention a charitable purpose without mentioning the extent that the money won't be going to them, you're going to be in trouble as well.

I have no intention of hiding the percentage. If I were to start doing this today what would I need? Would I just have to report the amount that has been donated to me the next time I submit taxes?

Also what would it mean if the $300 were tax deductible? Does that mean I could deduct what I would have had to pay if the $300 were taxable from the amount of tax I paid on the original $1000?