October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in America, so getting involved in the effort to fight breast cancer can have a tremendous impact. You can help the community by teaching others about services and treatments available, supporting those currently in treatment, and raising money for more research.

While making donations to the community is a reward in and of itself, it can also benefit your taxes. Qualified donations and expenses may get you some tax deductions if you can itemize those deductions.

Your Donations Make a Difference

While huge progress has been made with prevention and treatment, there is still more to do. A few popular choices for donations include the American Cancer Society and Susan G. Komen. There are, of course, many other worthy charities, and if you want to double-check if the organizations are recognized by the IRS as tax-exempt charitable organizations, the IRS has this handy tool you can use.

You should also know that if you purchase merchandise or services during fundraising activities, you can also deduct the amount that exceeds the value of goods or services you received. If you donated goods like clothes, you can deduct their fair market value. Don’t worry about knowing what you can deduct and the correct value. TurboTax ItsDeductible can accurately track and value your charitable donations year-round and transfers them to your TurboTax tax return.

Volunteering Your Time

Of course, you can give meaningfully without having to donate money. Volunteering can be a huge help for organizations and cancer patients. If part of your volunteer work involves travel, remember to keep good records! You may be able to deduct your mileage at 14 cents per mile if you travel to volunteer for qualified charitable organizations. Other travel expenses you’ll want to keep track of include lodging while you’re out of town and meals.

Don’t worry about knowing these tax rules. TurboTax will ask you simple questions and give you the tax deductions and credits you’re eligible for based on your answers. If you have questions, you can connect live via one-way video to a TurboTax Live CPA or Enrolled Agent with an average 15 years experience to get your tax questions answered. TurboTax Live CPAs and Enrolled Agents are available in English and Spanish and can also review, sign, and file your tax return.

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