When does the Bishop receive tithing?

Before I approached the Bishop with my recommendation, I thought I'd throw this out there. We have a less-active, tithing-paying sister in our ward. In December, the bishop moved within the ward. This sister mailed her tithing near the end of December. Because it went to the bishop's old address, and got forwarded, it didn't reach him until the week between Jan 2-Jan 8, so we included it in the Jan 9 donation batch. At the time, I noticed the post-mark of Dec 29, but the forwarding label wasn't slapped on there by the post office until after the new year, so we went ahead and counted it for 2011.

Now, this sister is asking that it be included in 2010 because she had already considered it for her taxes, and the donation makes a substantial impact.

I know how to make the change; I know what reports would need to be updated and re-submitted. My question is, should it be considered received in 2010?

allenjpl wrote:Before I approached the Bishop with my recommendation, I thought I'd throw this out there. We have a less-active, tithing-paying sister in our ward. In December, the bishop moved within the ward. This sister mailed her tithing near the end of December. Because it went to the bishop's old address, and got forwarded, it didn't reach him until the week between Jan 2-Jan 8, so we included it in the Jan 9 donation batch. At the time, I noticed the post-mark of Dec 29, but the forwarding label wasn't slapped on there by the post office until after the new year, so we went ahead and counted it for 2011.

Now, this sister is asking that it be included in 2010 because she had already considered it for her taxes, and the donation makes a substantial impact.

I know how to make the change; I know what reports would need to be updated and re-submitted. My question is, should it be considered received in 2010?

According to the policy in the Year-end donations wiki article, it can be included in the previous year if it is postmarked on or before December 31. The forwarding label really doesn't matter. It's when the post office first received the envelope that matters.

allenjpl wrote:This sister mailed her tithing near the end of December... At the time, I noticed the post-mark of Dec 29...

Now, this sister is asking that it be included in 2010 because she had already considered it for her taxes, and the donation makes a substantial impact.

I know how to make the change; I know what reports would need to be updated and re-submitted. My question is, should it be considered received in 2010?

Absolutely. The sister is correct. If it was post-marked in 2010, it should be included in a 2010 batch. She has no control over the post office forwarding it or the bishop's moving. She submitted it in 2010.