2010 Donation Should be in 2011 . . how to?

A donor would like their December 31,2010 donation (which was entered for 2010) to apply to the 2011 year.

What is the correct procedure?

Thank you.

danielscott wrote:A donor would like their December 31,2010 donation (which was entered for 2010) to apply to the 2011 year.

What is the correct procedure?

As far as I know, there is no procedure because it shouldn't be done. The instructions are very specific that we are to receipt donations in the year they are given. Certainly that message is indisputable for any attempts to back-date a donation made in 2011 as a 2010 donation. I would think that the same rules apply for the other direction. You definitely need to be very careful about doing anything that would violate federal tax rules, and essentially post-dating a 2010 donation seems to have the potential to do that. I would seek guidance from Local Unit Support or from the Church Tax Department.

Understood. This is a check the donor writes monthly, and did not consider the new year when she wrote it and handed it to the bishop on 12/30 and which was processed for the 12/31/2010 batch.

I am a new clerk, would cancellation of the check (with her knowledge) and re-writing another check this week be the best solution??

danielscott wrote:Understood. This is a check the donor writes monthly, and did not consider the new year when she wrote it and handed it to the bishop on 12/30 and which was process for the 12/31/2010 batch.

I am a new clerk, would cancellation of the check (with her knowledge) and re-writing another check this week be the best solution??

I repeat my advice to be very careful about this. I don't think you should jump into asking how to do this, when there is a definite concern that you should not be doing it at all. What you are proposing is canceling a donation. That is only done when the donation was not really received (e.g., the check was not honored by the bank). But if a donation has been received, it is done and is no longer in the control of the donor. If the donor still has control over the donation, then the charitable status of that donation, and the Church as recipient of that donation, are both in jeopardy.

Really, you should consult the Church Tax Department before you contemplate taking such action.

will do. thanks!

Couldn't the member put a stop payment on their own check with their own bank? Wouldn't that cause it to not be honored by their bank, and thus it would come back to the ward as a donation that would need to be canceled? Thus effectively achieving what the member wants?

(Again, I'm no tax person, but if I were the one that had donated, I might go this route if I truly wanted to "cancel" my own donation)

nathangg wrote:Couldn't the member put a stop payment on their own check with their own bank?

In this case it's far too late for that.

nathangg wrote:Couldn't the member put a stop payment on their own check with their own bank? Wouldn't that cause it to not be honored by their bank, and thus it would come back to the ward as a donation that would need to be canceled? Thus effectively achieving what the member wants?

(Again, I'm no tax person, but if I were the one that had donated, I might go this route if I truly wanted to "cancel" my own donation)

Considering that the donation was made on December 30, and it is now January 23, I highly doubt it. Under all but the most extreme cases, that check has long since cleared the donor's account.