When is form 8283 required to be filed?

• Author: Schaefer, Michael V.

Form 8283, Noncash Charitable Contributions, must be filed with an individual's income tax return to sub stantiate noncash charitable contributions made during a given tax year. The instructions to Form 8283 indicate that the form must be filed with the individual's tax return for the year the individual contributes the property and first claims a deduction for the contribution. (1) A literal reading of this instruction suggests that both requirements must be met before Form 8283 is required to be filed.

What if the individual claims the standard deduction in the year W of the contribution (year 1) because the standard deduction is larger than the allowable deduction for the charitable contribution? Arguably the individual did not claim the deduction in that year and thus is not required to file Form 8283 in that year.

What if the individual claims the standard deduction but the charitable contribution was larger than the applicable percentage limitations for charitable contributions (i.e., the contribution would have been limited if the taxpayer had itemized deductions)? Per Regs. Sec. 1.170A-10(a) (2), the carryover provisions apply to contributions in excess of the limitations even though the taxpayer takes the standard deduction instead of itemizing.

Example: A married couple, both 66 years of age, file a joint tax return for 2011 when their adjusted gross income (AGI) is $18,000. During 2011, the couple gave $6,000 cash contributions to their church and also contributed a 30% capital gain property with a fair market value of $8,000 to the church. They did not have any other deductions.

It is more advantageous for the couple to elect the standard deduction than to itemize deductions as shown in the exhibit on page 173. Since it is more advantageous for the couple to choose the standard deduction, they must also calculate their charitable contribution carryover. Under Sec. 170 and the associated regulations, individual charitable contributions of non-capital gain property are limited to 50% of AGL Any contributions in excess of the AGI limitation can be carried forward and deducted in subsequent years. Contributions of capital gain property are limited to the lesser of 30% of AGI or the amount remaining under the 50% limitation after subtracting non-capital gain contributions.

In the example above, the $6,000 cash contribution is below the AGI limit of $9,000 (50% of the couple's $18,000 AGI) and hence is factored into the carryover...