Should we assign value to "member shelves"? eg. $5/m suggested donation, so that the other $35-$75 becomes tax deductible.<div>It has been apparent to me that there isn't 1:1 relationship between shelves and being a paying member.</div>
<div><br></div><div>Regards,</div><div>John<br><div><br></div><div><br><div><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Thu, Jan 13, 2011 at 12:53 AM, Jared Dunne <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:jareddunne@gmail.com">jareddunne@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">I've heard it mentioned before that NB dues are not tax-deductible, so I decided to look into this more. I think Jacob's accountant is on to something.<br>
<br>I found this publication from the IRS regarding "Charitable Contributions":<br>
<a href="http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p526.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p526.pdf</a><br><br>If you look on Page 4 under "Contributions You Can Deduct":<br>---Start of Excerpt--<br><b>Membership fees or dues.</b> You may be able<br>
to deduct membership fees or dues you pay to a<br>qualified organization. However, you can deduct<br>only the amount that is more than the value of<br>the benefits you receive. You cannot deduct<br>dues, fees, or assessments paid to country<br>
clubs and other social organizations. They are<br>not qualified organizations.<br>---End of Excerpt--<br><br>Noisebridge's 501(c)(3) status makes them a "qualified organization". So the question then hinges on quantifying the "value" of membership. While noisebridge itself might bring a tremendous value to your life, I believe there is no montetary value associated with the benefits of being a proper member. The only actual benefit of membership of which I know is the right to participate in the consensus process. With members receiving no monetary benefit from their dues, they are able to deduct the entirety of their dues. <br>
<br>Can anyone provide anything definitive that would contradict this?<br><br>If you are still fearing the tax man, browse through that publication more. The more I read it the more confident I became that NB dues and donations should be 100% deductible given its status. Specifically I'd recommend reading the entire section titled "Contributions From Which You Benefit" which starts on Page 3 of the Publication.<br>
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<br>Jared-</font><div><div></div><div class="h5"><br><br>On Wed, Jan 12, 2011 at 9:59 PM, Jason Dusek <<a href="mailto:jason.dusek@gmail.com" target="_blank">jason.dusek@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br>> On Thu, Jan 13, 2011 at 05:36, Dr. Jesus <<a href="mailto:j@hug.gs" target="_blank">j@hug.gs</a>> wrote:<br>
>> On Wed, Jan 12, 2011 at 9:27 PM, Jacob Appelbaum <<a href="mailto:jacob@appelbaum.net" target="_blank">jacob@appelbaum.net</a>> wrote:<br>>> > On 01/12/2011 09:01 PM, Dr. Jesus wrote:<br>>> > > Who's deducting their membership dues from their taxes?<br>
>> > > My accountant says as long as I'm not receiving any value<br>>> > > from my membership then I can deduct the full amount, but<br>>> > > I don't want to find out the hard way that there's a catch<br>
>> > > I didn't think of.<br>>> ><br>>> > I do not believe this to be true unless any membership fees<br>>> > count. Membership fees are not a donation.<br>>><br>>> Deductibility seems to hinge on whether value is being<br>
>> obtained in exchange for the dues, not whether they are a<br>>> donation. As far as I can tell, my membership dues don't buy<br>>> me anything I wouldn't get as a non member, so I'm not<br>
>> obtaining any real value and the dues should be deductible.<br>><br>> This is complex and we could have a very interesting<br>> discussion about it.<br>><br>> Recently, I donated to the San Francisco Ballet. I suddenly<br>
> have the privilege of attending certain recitals (not<br>> performances) and may even extend this privilege to a friend.<br>> Is this value or not? It is certainly a privilege reserved for<br>> only a few people. Whereas, everything at Noisebridge is open<br>
> to the public.<br>><br>> --<br>> Jason Dusek<br>> Linux User #510144 | <a href="http://counter.li.org/" target="_blank">http://counter.li.org/</a><br>> _______________________________________________<br>
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