News and Events
Take a break: Supporting charities one way to lessen this year's tax burden
By ELENA GRIMM
Published by: DeKalb Daily Chronicle , DeKalb, IL
Date: 12/30/2008
Tax savings come in all shapes and sizes – some in the shape of a baby born Dec. 31.
Babies born Wednesday – even those at 11:59 p.m. – could save their parents thousands of dollars because of a retroactive tax exemption for all of 2008. Tax savings are worth $3,500 for 2008, according to a news release from H Block.
But there are plenty of other ways to yield tax breaks that are more controllable than the timing of a newborn’s arrival.
One is by donating to charity.
“A large number of people do [this] because that’s one thing they can control,” said Carme Gregory, the H Block premium director in Sycamore. For example, people may give extra to their church or another organization by Dec. 31 to drop down to the next tax bracket.
This is the busiest time of year for donated items for at least two DeKalb charities, Hope Haven homeless shelter and The Salvation Army.
But January is also a busy time for donations, The Salvation Army Capt. Alex Norton said.
“After the first of the year people dig a little deeper,” he said. “Once they get over the Christmas holidays they can think about budgets and what they can afford.”
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