If you want to make such a gift, you'll need a qualified appraisal, a public charity willing to accept the gift--there's only so much practice a fire department can take--and state laws allowing it (Kansas' health department, for example, limits fire-training exercises to interior portions of the home, not the total structure).

FORBES: Ultradeductible

The assets must be transferred directly from the sponsor to a qualified charity, and the gift must be received by year-end.

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This form of gift can be more meaningful if you take the time to find a charity that the recipient likes to support.

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True, some 10% of gift-card balances never get redeemed (Mr. Waldfogel is on the board of a company that lets you direct this unused portion to charity), but gift cards are still an efficient way to give, he argues.

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In the year of the gift, the donor uses IRS tables to figure a one-time deduction based on the charity's projected share.

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Mary's Meals will place Charlie's gift in a container with a further 5, 000 backpacks ready to be shipped to Malawi, where the charity provides a daily meal to more than 479, 000 children.

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Soon after the gift was received, a similar sum was channelled to the Chamber itself in the form of a loan from the charity.

ECONOMIST: Corporate lobbying