The Tax Law of Charitable Giving. Bruce R. Hopkins

the issue of donative intent. In (presumably unreviewed) papers filed with the court, this came out as “donut of intent.” The court, in a delicious pun, observed that this is a doctrine “confected” by the donor, adding that this doctrine “presumably should not be confused with the more vanilla ‘donative intent.’” Palmer Ranch Holdings Ltd. v. Commissioner, 812 F.3d 982, 988, note 1 (11th Cir. 2016).

      46 46 McGrady v. Commissioner, 112 T.C.M. (CCH) 688 (2016).

      47 47 Id. at 693.

      48 48 Gookin v. United States, 707 F. Supp. 1156 (N.D. Cal. 1988); Burke v. United States, 88-1 U.S.T.C. ¶ 9,391 (D. Conn. 1988); Davis v. Commissioner, 81 T.C. 806 (1983), aff'd, 767 F.2d 931 (9th Cir. 1985). Cf. Carter v. United States, 973 F.2d 1479 (9th Cir. 1992).

      49 49 Miller v. Internal Revenue Serv., 829 F.2d 500, 502 (4th Cir. 1987).

      50 50 Id. A charitable gift may be made by means of a payroll deduction program. Rev. Rul. 54-549, 1954-2 C.B. 94; Priv. Ltr. Rul. 200307084. An otherwise valid (and deductible) charitable gift may be a fraudulent conveyance that is voidable by creditors or by a bankruptcy trustee.

      51 51 Goodwin v. United States, 870 F. Supp. 265 (S.D. Iowa 1994), aff'd, 67 F.3d 149 (8th Cir. 1995).

      52 52 Id., 870 F. Supp. at 267.

      53 53 Id. at 268. Also United States v. Terrell, 754 F.2d 1139 (5th Cir. 1985); Banks v. Commissioner, 62 T.C.M. (CCH) 1611 (1991).

      54 54 Id. The “detached or disinterested” phraseology was in reference to the language used by the Supreme Court in Commissioner v. Duberstein, 363 U.S. 278, 285 (1960).

      55 55 The U.S. Tax Court had occasion to apply the principles in Goodwin (supra note 51) in Brown v. Commissioner, 117 T.C.M. (CCH) 1339 (2019), and Felton v. Commissioner, 116 T.C.M. (CCH) 365 (2018).

      56 56 See § 8.2.

      57 57 IRC § 170(a). As to charitable organizations, see § 2.3.

      58 58 E.g., Tripp v. Commissioner, 337 F.2d 432 (7th Cir. 1964); Thomason v. Commissioner, 2 T.C. 441 (1943).

      59 59 See § 6.2(k).

      60 60 See § 6.3(d).

      61 61 McLennan v. United States, 91-1 U.S.T.C. ¶ 50,230 (Ct. Cl. 1991), aff'd, 994 F.2d 839 (Fed. Cir. 1993); Skripak v. Commissioner, 84 T.C. 285, 319 (1985); Allen v. Commissioner, 92 T.C. 1, 7 (1989), aff'd, 925 F.2d 348 (9th Cir. 1991).

      62 62 IRC § 1001. E.g., Browning v. Commissioner, 109 T.C. 303 (1997) (value of state and federal tax benefits held not part of the amount realized from a bargain sale (see § 7.18)).

      63 63 IRC § 164.

      64 64 E.g., Rev. Rul. 79-315, 1979-2 C.B. 27, holding (3) (stating that the amount of a state tax rebate credited against tax is neither included in income nor allowable as a deduction under IRC § 164); Snyder v. Commissioner, 894 F.2d 1337 (6th Cir. 1990) (state tax reductions granted to horse-racing track that makes capital improvements held to not be income but a reduction in deductible tax liabilities).

      65 65 Chief Couns. Adv. Mem. 201105010.

      66 66 For example, the IRS ruled that proposed sales of columbarium niches and cenotaphs by a parish of the Roman Catholic Church for an amount greater than their fair market value would give rise to a charitable contribution deduction for the amount exceeding value. Priv. Ltr. Rul. 200213021. These niches would be used for the interment of cremated remains and the cenotaphs used for remembrances of loved ones who are buried elsewhere. The agency also ruled that, inasmuch as the niches and cenotaphs would be used for decedents for whom the Church had conducted or expected to conduct a funeral ceremony, the sales would not be an unrelated business.

      67 67 See §§ 7.18, 20.2.

      68 68 Singer Co. v. United States, 449 F.2d 413, 423 (Ct. Cl. 1971).

      69 69 Id. at 423 (emphasis in original).

      70 70 Id. at 424.

      71 71 Id.

      72 72 Id.

      73 73 Ottawa Silica Co. v. United States, 699 F.2d 1124 (Fed. Cir. 1983).

      74 74 Id. at 1135.

      75 75 Id.

      76 76 Id.

      77 77 Considine v. Commissioner, 74 T.C. 955 (1980).

      78 78 Id. at 968.

      79 79 Signom v. Commissioner, 79 T.C.M. (CCH) 2081 (2000).

      80 80 See § 8.3.

      81 81 Rolfs v. Commissioner, 135 T.C. 471 (2010), aff'd, 668 F.3d 888 (7th Cir. 2012). Likewise, Patel v. Commissioner, 138 T.C. 395 (2012).

      82 82 E.g., Stubbs v. United States, 428 F.2d 885 (9th Cir. 1970), cert. den., 400 U.S. 1009 (1971); Jefferson Mills, Inc. v. United States, 367 F.2d 392 (5th Cir. 1966); Wegner v. Lethert, 67-1 U.S.T.C. ¶ 9,229 (D. Minn. 1967); Allis-Chalmers Mfg. Co. v. United States, 200 F. Supp. 91 (E.D. Wis. 1961); Seldin v. Commissioner, 28 T.C.M. (CCH) 1215 (1969); Scheffres v. Commissioner, 28 T.C.M. (CCH) 234 (1969). Some old cases also are based on this rationale: e.g., Bogardus v. Commissioner, 302 U.S. 34 (1937); Channing v. United States, 4 F. Supp. 33 (D. Mass. 1933).

      83 83 A purchaser of a ticket to an event held by or for the benefit of a charitable organization who does not attend the event is not the maker of a charitable gift, in that the purchaser receives a material