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  Srey Tiep July 5, 2014 at 11:52pm

  I'm not an accountant either, but I think the only thing you could deduct would be documented costs related to the donation.
       You might be able to come up with a reasonable "rent," based on past practices and records, which would be your cost.  If you included transport, handling, sales / property tax in those records, than that would be your cost, per unit (whatever your unit was).  If you didn't have a record of those costs, then you might be in trouble down the road if you claimed a deduction and the IRS decided to look into it.  If you lent the items to the charity and kept exact records of your costs (e.g., mileage, gas, handling, etc.), then you could probably claim that on your Schedule A.
       But that might not have an effect on your taxes, while claiming it as a Schedule C donation/expense would.
       Here's my vote:  If you have rental or comparable expense records, use those costs plus any other expenses related to the donation (e.g., gas, handling, shipping, etc., [but must be related to prior history in some form or fashion]), and charge them as expenses on your Schedule C.  Why?  Because they'll reduce your income tax vis-a-vis gross profit.  If you use them as Schedule A instead, you'll face other possible limitations and you probably wouldn't reap the same cost benefits as you would against a C expense.  However, do the calculations both ways.
       We believe there are two avenues here, and that IRS rules -- given the reasonably small expenditures -- would allow you to take the route most advantageous to you, as the small business-person.  Have fun!
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  John Kennington July 4, 2014 at 10:32pm

  I'm certainly not an accountant, but I would think if you are filing a Schedule C, then you have a business, be it a sole proprietorship, LLC, corporation, etc. So a donation of the panel rental is a donation by your business, not a personal donation, so it would be reflected on your schedule C, not Sch A.

  But what I would think would be wrong! See http://biztaxlaw.about.com/od/businesstaxdeduction1/f/charitydeduct...

  According to that, sole proprietorships do not make donations, it does need to go on sch. A. So much for my accounting knowledge!

  And the organization must be a 501c(3) non-profit group. The link has some more good info. Notably, it also says "you cannot deduct your time working for a charitable organization", though I was thinking (again, incorrectly) you could at least charge for your time (though you can deduct your mileage.)

  One thing you might do is have them pay you the $300, and then you turn around and give them a donation of $300. I am president of a local non-profit group, and we have one person who does that exact thing with our group, on the advice of his accountant. We reimburse him for some direct expenses he incurs on our behalf, and he then writes us a check for that amount as a personal donation.  

   
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  Lucia Friedericy July 3, 2014 at 2:27pm

  Yes, that was my incredibly subtle and witty joke about a booth fee being more than it was worth...the point is, you could never seriously claim that unless the organization backed you up and said it was, so you can't write any of it off then.

  I file a Sched C and I have to pay self-employment tax on my profit--and self-employment tax is much higher than regular income tax because you are paying into your social security for yourself because you don't have an employer to do so. Therefore I prefer any deductible expense I have to go against my profit from my business as it lowers it requiring less self-employment tax and that is a better write off than the percentage you get off your 1040 for deductible charitable expenses. I don't know what would be of more benefit if you have incorporated.
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  Savina Francisco July 3, 2014 at 1:52pm

  Is there generally a larger deduction for charitable donations than for other deductions?
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  Diane Wright July 3, 2014 at 11:38am

  Not sure about the advantage. Charitable deductions are deducted on itemized deductions and not on schedule C so it does not offset Schedule C income. Yes if you donate your pro panels to the convent you can take it off. Not sure if you let them use them, you can deduct the normal rent. Check with your tax person. And Lucia's right, I'm not sure if the booth rent qualifies as you are receiving something in return - your space. It's not an out and out donation of money.
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  Elizabeth Tivol July 3, 2014 at 11:38am

  I am totally following this discussion!
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  Larry Berman July 3, 2014 at 11:02am

  Paying more for booth fees than they are worth???

  That's a whole other discussion.

  Larry Berman
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  Lucia Friedericy July 3, 2014 at 10:44am

  I believe to write off a donation you are only able to claim the amount that exceeds any monetary value that you get back from the donation--for example, if you pay 100.oo for a ticket to go to a charity function and the cost of the dinner you receive there is valued at 75.00, you can only write off 25.00. Or if you buy an item at a fund raising auction you are only allowed to write off anything you pay that exceeds the retail value if the item. So you would have to establish that you were paying more for your booth fee than it was worth and then you could claim the difference only as a donation.