8 holiday giving tips your clients will appreciate

3. Make sure the charity is IRS qualified. Every organization that has legitimate tax-exempt status should have an authorization letter from the IRS. You can also find a full list of fully authorized tax-exempt groups at IRS.gov, in IRS Publication 78, or call the IRS at 1-877-829-5500.

4. Consider giving stock. There are real tax benefits to giving gifts of appreciated stock, and for most charities, they're no different from a gift of cash. If your client donates appreciated stock, they get the chance to write off the value of the stock at the time it was donated. At the same time, though, the client can avoid having to pay capital gains taxes on the appreciated value of the security.

5. Be careful with noncash contributions. The rules are a little different for people donating goods rather than cash. If the value of the donated item exceeds $5,000 — say, for instance, the client wants to donate a car — the item must be appraised in writing. There's also a special form to fill out: Section B of Form 8283.

6. Get a receipt, if you can. The IRS wants all monetary donations to be substantiated. That can be via a receipt from the charity, but it can also consist of a bank record showing the transfer of funds or a canceled check. If the donation is for $250 or more, the IRS wants you to have an official receipt. Also, the person claiming the deduction doesn't have to worry about having those records to file at the time of the return. In the case of an audit, it will have to be produced, but generally not until then. 7. If you volunteer, deduct your expenses. The time a client spends volunteering for a charity can't be monetized and written off. Neither can services that were provided to the charity at no cost. But expenses are deductible. Travel costs incurred while working on behalf of a charity are deductible, including the cost of gas. If it's too much of a hassle to keep track of the cost of the gasoline, the client can simply deduct 14 cents per mile.

8. Make the payments on time. If the client has pledged to pay $1000 to a charity but has contributed $500 by year's end, only that $500 is deductible. But a credit card payment or check counts as a payment in 2013 even if the transaction isn't completed until 2014. However, if the client wants to push the deduction into 2014, he or she can pledge to the charity now and write the check in January.