Who gets the tax deduction?

Tim sent the money so Tim gets the deduction.

Seems pretty obvious to me. Whose bank account did the $300 come from? Do you remember making a donation?

Nobody, because to date, there's no acknowledgement letter from the charity to any possible donor and as the amount is over $250, one is required.

Tim sent the money, yes. But it seems to me as if it's the same as Tim giving OP the money and OP making the donation. If it's in OP's name, that's the way the charity should view it, and give the recognition letter as appropriate in that case. ___ Stu

No, OP does not get the deduction. It's not the same as Tim giving OP the money and OP making the donation because OP never had the money and never made the decision to donate the money.

Ira Smilovitz Leonia, NJ

Don't fall into that an analogy proves something trap. It is true that payment by one person of some obligations of another is treated as payment by that other person. However, there is nothing in the tax law to suggest that anyone besides Tim gets the charitable contribution deduction. I have little doubt that the charity will send the receipt to Tim. The charity might send an acknowledgement to the honoree without specifying the dollar amount.

No, it isn't. OP never had the choice or the money.

Suppose "Tim" is Bill Gates, and the donation made in OP's name is $1 million. Would gift tax be owed? Why? Bill just wrote a check to a charity, which creates a deduction, not a tax liability.

Seth

Even if the OP did get the deduction, he probably wouldn't be able to deduct the whole $1 million. The most you can ever deduct is 50% of your AGI.

Seth was talking about Bill Gates, not the OP. If Gates doesn't have AGI in excess of $2,000,000 every year, then I am really disappointed in him. :),

The point was, rather, that if the honoree got the deduction, it might not be immediately usable due to insufficient AGI.

Seth