Change Donation Date

I have a member that turned in a tithing donation on January 3, 2016 and now wants that donation to be included in her 2015 Official Tax Tithing Document. I don't see any way that I can change the date of the transaction. After reviewing her donation slip, she dated both the slip and her check as December 27, 2015.

From her personal tax perspective, I would assume that she could keep a copy of her 2016 donation and include a copy of her slip for December 2015 in case she were to be audited. As long as she doesn't claim it in both 2015 and 2016, she should be fine.

If that is incorrect, does anyone know how to change the date on a donation?

stanfordyorkcooper wrote:I have a member that turned in a tithing donation on January 3, 2016 and now wants that donation to be included in her 2015 Official Tax Tithing Document. I don't see any way that I can change the date of the transaction. After reviewing her donation slip, she dated both the slip and her check as December 27, 2015.

If she turned in a tithing donation on January 3, 2016, then from the Church's perspective it is a 2016 donation. Period. The date cannot be changed (if there was a clerical error in how the donation was processed, then there is a way to change it, but that doesn't sound like the case here). It's quite irrelevant what date she put on her slip or her check -- the date she submitted it is the key date (and the term "submitted" means when it was handed to a member of the bishopric, or if it was mailed, the postmark date).

stanfordyorkcooper wrote:From her personal tax perspective, I would assume that she could keep a copy of her 2016 donation and include a copy of her slip for December 2015 in case she were to be audited. As long as she doesn't claim it in both 2015 and 2016, she should be fine.

I wouldn't make any such assumption. Clerks and leaders can give statements about what the Church's policy is (as I stated above), but should be very wary of giving any advice that borders on personal tax advice. Instead, you should refer members to their personal tax advisers. My personal understanding is that she cannot claim this donation as a 2015 charitable contribution, but again, she'll need to consult her tax adviser. All you can tell her definitively is that her donation will appear only on 2016 statements from the Church.

stanfordyorkcooper wrote:I have a member that turned in a tithing donation on January 3, 2016

When/how was the donation turned in?

• If she handed it to a member of the bishopric prior to January 1, 2016 and it wasn't processed until 2016, it can be counted toward 2015.
• If she mailed it and it was postmarked 2015, but it didn't get processed (or even delivered) until 2016, it can be counted toward 2015.
• If she handed it to a member of the bishopric in 2016, it can't be counted toward 2015. Period, end of story. The dates on the check or donation slip are irrelevant.

The above is not church policy as much as it's US tax law.