Charitable Donations In Foreign Countries

No, contributions to non-U.S. charities are not deductible on your U.S. tax return. There are exceptions, with some limitations, for Canada, Mexico, and Israel, but not for any other countries.

Bob Sandler

Our favorites are the local volunteer fire department and the local home for abandoned and abused children. Are these tax deductible in any way?

Unfortunately, they are not. Contributions must be to organizations formed or organized under the laws of the US. There are a very few exceptions due to treaty such as Canada, but only if you have income from those sources.

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I was awaiting that answer to ask something I have always wondered: is the a legit US qualified "clearinghouse" charity, so you can deduct your contributions to the clearinghouse charity, and they in turn will send the donation to a legit charity abroad?

There's a word or two missing from your post: "is the ???? a legit US qualified..".

The requirement for an individual taking a deduction is that the organization is

"(A) created or organized in the United States or in any possession thereof, or under the law of the United States, any State, the District of Columbia, or any possession of the United States; (B) organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, literary, or educational purposes, or to foster national or international amateur sports competition (but only if no part of its activities involve the provision of athletic facilities or equipment), or for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals;"

Note that the law does not require that the charity spend their income in the U.S. That's why you can donate funds to a variety of US charities that provide relief outside the U.S. and still deduct your gift. As the long as the clearinghouse charity conforms to the definition in Section

The above is NOT true for a corporation making a gift. In this instance the gift has to be used in the U.S. or its possessions to be deductible.

Short answer: no. Donor advised funds that route money to other US charities are barely legal, and an international version would not be.

Some international charities have branches in the US. For example Mdecins sans Frontires is French, but they have a US affiliate which is a US charity and supports its international programs. Same with Oxfam and a lot of other well known international charities.

One time I asked my church in the US if they'd be willing to send some money to a church in an affiliated denomination in the UK which was struggling to raise money to rebuild the manse which had become too decrepit to live in. (The minister who lived there was a friend of mine.) They were willing, I gave my US church a donation of the same amount, but the gift to the UK church and the decision to do so rested with the US church.

That's called being a fiscal agent - where a qualified charity collects money on behalf of another group that cannot get tax- deductible contributions directly, as long as the funds are used for the exempt purpose of the recipient organization. Some groups act primarily as fiscal agents, others do it on an as-determined basis. Fiscal agents generally ask for and receive a portion (usually 5-10%) of the contributions to defray their bookkeeping costs.

"is the" should have been "is there"

Thanks for the replies.