This may have been asked before, so apologies for any repeat. With the new tax plans in place, where many itemized deductions are going away, will the typical Mormon family get to write off their tithing contributions? I can see a decline in tithing revenue if the benefit of doing so is taken away.

Maybe. Maybe not.
It's complicated :)

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/charitable-giving-to-take-a-hit-from-the-tax-law/

For a lot of Mormons in the US, they will not need to itemize. For a couple, itemized deductions would have to exceed $24,000, iirc. Somebody with a good income and fat mortgage could exceed that, but even then, they likely wouldn't exceed it by much, so there would be minimal additional tax advantage.

For people taking the standard deduction, they would save the most on taxes by donating zero dollars to charity. I have family members who would violate just about any norm to save a buck. I bet they at least decrease their tithing and justify it by blaming the evil gummint.

They will also lose exemptions for their children. The child tax credit is increasing to make up for that, but it is set to expire in 2028 I believe, and ends when the child reaches 17 in any case, when they are still HS juniors. Before, a parent could take a dependent exemption until age 24 if the child was in school.

Ouch. Especially if they have a lot of children



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/23/2018 11:54AM by Brother Of Jerry.

When accountant I heard speaking in Salt Lake said to save your tithing and only pay it every other year. so you make a big enough to deduction that it's worth it on your taxes. In the off year you take the standard deduction.

Or at least give it a reputable charity.

If your charitable contributions are too large of a percentage of your income, stand by to get audited.

This has been a general point of advice across the country.

The church won't stand for it. Expect a letter or talk about it in April. They already get touchy if you pay af the end of the year.

I did this for years through a 'trust'. I still have the trust for charitable donations ---- I just give less now so it has and will last for years.

You pay the 'trust' charitable contributions every other year to get the tax deduction. You pay the church or other charities out of the trust every year or whenever you want as the 'tax' deduction was already taken.

You only get a 'tax deduction when you give your money to an authorized 'charitable trust'! The 'trust' assets must only go to 'authorized charities'!

I will probably tell my TBM children how to get this as an itemized deduction every 2 years or periodically. The relatives ----- we will see.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/23/2018 10:59PM by spiritist.

Mormons don't get to do anything.

M@t

Does Mormonism even qualify as a charity?

This will get bad for regular Mormons with lots of kids.

They either can't get any more deductions on their tithes or they will have to let the $ build up in an account until it exceeds $24,000.

Well, good luck with that.

I guess this will also eliminate the bishop calling people in at Xmas time.
LOL

Legally it qualifies as a charity. Ethical, opinions vary.

As someone mentioned above, LDS Inc will not be happy about people paying every other year. For one thing, it will put a dent in their cash flow, at least for the first few years until large payments every other year for some tithe payers becomes the standard cash flow model.

I think more problematic is when John Q Tithepayer has to write a check for 20% of his annual gross income at the end of that second year, which will be more like a third of his take-home pay for that year, he may finally have a WTF moment about the amount of money he is forking over, especially since the year before he got to keep all of his take-home pay.

Wow imagine that, people actually charitable donating without being given a benefit. I think it is great!

Most regular people may throw a $20 or whatever they can afford into a Sunday collection basket.

Mormonism,however, demands 10% of your monthly income,which is a considerable chunk of money for most people, especially when they also have lots of kids.

Not only that, they are also expected to pay fast offerings and whatever else may come up.

It is next to impossible to prosper comfortably under such circumstances.

The new tax plan will shorten disposable income even more for such families.
But the ones who don't pay tithes etc will actually benefit from it.

Hopefully, it will dawn on Mormons that their so-called church is too demanding.