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Regs. Under the applicable provisions, a taxpayer claiming a
charitable contribution deduction is required to maintain for
each contribution a canceled check, some communication from the
donee organization acknowledging receipt of a contribution and
showing the date and amount of the contribution, or other
reliable written records showing the name of the donee, along
with the date and amount of the contribution. Sec. 1.170A-
13(a)(1)(i) to (iii), Income Tax Regs.
At trial, petitioner testified that he regularly made cash
contributions to the church where he and his former girlfriend
attended services. He admitted he did not go to church every
Sunday but claimed his cash contributions for the year 2002
totaled $3,860. Additionally, petitioner testified that he
donated two Sony Playstations to the church constituting the $500
portion of the charitable contributions made other than by cash
or check.
Petitioner did not offer any substantiating documents to
support his charitable contributions for the year at issue, nor
did he maintain records of the amount of his contributions.
Notwithstanding the Court’s discretionary authority pursuant to
Cohan, a taxpayer must provide some basis upon which an estimate
of the amount of a claimed deduction may be made. Vanicek v.
Commissioner, supra. Without such a basis, any allowance would
amount to unguided largesse. Williams v. United States, 245 F.2d
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Last modified: May 25, 2011