Answers to Go with Susan Smith

Q. I sent out my charitable donations late this year. Will I still be able to deduct them from my 2018 IRS return if the charity doesn’t cash them until 2019?

A. I looked at the IRS.gov webpage and didn’t immediately find an answer to this precise question, so I pulled out a book, “J.K. Lasser’s Your Income Tax 2018 – For Preparing your 2017 Tax Return.”

The new J.K. Lasser volume should arrive soon. If the date is of concern, you can give us a call in a few weeks and we will check to see if the information below has changed.

The chapter on charitable contribution deductions does answer this question under year-end donations: “You deduct donations on the tax return filed for the year in which you paid them in cash or property. “A contribution by check is deductible in the year you give the check, even if it is cashed in the following year. A check mailed and dated at the end of 2017 is deductible for 2017. “A pledge or a note is not deductible until paid.

“Donations made through a credit card are deductible in the year the charge is made, so if you donate online or by phone towards the end of 2017, the donation is deductible on your 2017 return, even though you do not pay the credit card bill until 2018. “Donations made through a pay-by-phone bank account are not deductible until the payment date shown on the bank statement.” J.K. Lasser also offers a list of the type of organizations qualifying for deductions as well as information on nondeductible contributions.

Our AARP volunteers will once again be helping low-income and elderly people file their tax returns electronically. These trained volunteers work at the San Marcos Public Library on Saturday mornings and Monday afternoons beginning Saturday, Feb. 2. You may call the library at 512-393-8200 for details.