Samhain
DP Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 30, 2011
- Messages
- 4,939
- Reaction score
- 2,131
- Location
- Northern Ohio
- Gender
- Undisclosed
- Political Leaning
- Libertarian
So instead of getting cash that you can spend on food you prefer, you get a random mix of food that you may or may not like. Our local food bank was collecting the other day; the list they handed out at the grocery store was pasta sauce, noodles, rice, cereal, peanut butter, dried beans...can't remember what else. I'm sure hungry people are grateful for anything they can get, but with cash they can pick what they like.
And given WalMart associates' low pay, that bonus isn't going to have much in taxes taken out of it. Let's see... $100 that's maybe $80 after taxes vs random canned food...I'd take the money.
As far as getting a tax deduction -seriously? do you track how much you spend when you put a couple cans in the donation bag and deduct it later? I don't. And yes, I bought stuff for the food bank based on their list (think I went with two kinds of pasta sauce - organic; two kinds of pasta - both organic, one gluten free; and a huge jar of peanut butter - Skippy - smooth, which is "MY" favorite PB but for all I know the person who eats it prefers chunky Peter Pan....) and No, I don't have a separate receipt to use for taxes.
Seriously? you deduct a couple cans of food?
Yes, and you should too. I also deduct donations to Goodwill, United Way, and other charities. That's the point of itemized deductions. You should also save all of your receipts in which sales tax is charged, as it can exceed the standard deduction as well.