Types of qualified organizations for your charitable contribution. Generally, only the following types of organizations can be qualified organizations.

1. A community chest, corporation, trust, fund, or foundation organized or created in or under the laws of the United States, any state, the District of Columbia, or any possession of the United States (including Puerto Rico). It must, however, be organized and operated only for charitable, religious, scientific, literary, or educational purposes, or for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals. Certain organizations that foster national or international amateur sports competition also qualify.
2. War veteran's organizations, including posts, auxiliaries, trusts, or foundations, that is organized in the United States or any of its possessions (including Puerto Rico).
3. Domestic fraternal societies, orders, and associations operating under the lodge system. Your contribution to this type of organization is deductible only if it is to be used solely for charitable, religious, scientific, literary, or educational purposes, or for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals.
4. Certain non-profit cemetery companies or corporations. Your contribution to this type of organization is not deductible if it can be used for the care of a specific lot or mausoleum crypt.
5. The United States or any state, the District of Columbia, a U.S. possession, including Puerto Rico, a political subdivision of a state or U.S. possession, or an Indian tribal government or any of its subdivisions that perform substantial government functions. Your contribution to this type of organization is only deductible if it is to be used solely for public purposes.

Examples of Organizations. The following list gives some examples of qualified organizations; i) Churches, a convention or association of churches, temples, synagogues, mosques, and other religious organizations, ii) Most nonprofit charitable organizations such as the American Red Cross and the United Way, iii) Most nonprofit educational organizations including the Boy Scouts of America, Girl Scouts of America, colleges, and museums. This also includes nonprofit daycare centers that provide childcare to the general public if substantially all the childcare is provided to enable parents and guardians to be gainfully employed. However, if you contribution is a substitute for tuition or other enrollment fee, it is not deductible as a charitable contribution, iv) Nonprofit hospitals and medical research organizations, v) Utility company emergency energy programs, if the utility company is an agent for a charitable organization that assists individuals with emergency energy needs, vi) Nonprofit volunteer fire companies, vii) Nonprofit organizations that develop and maintain public parks and recreation facilities, and viii) Civil defense organizations.

There are certain foreign charitable organizations. under income tax treaties with Canada, Israel, and Mexico, you may be able to deduct contributions to certain Canadian, Israeli, or Mexican charitable organizations. Generally, you must have income from sources in that country. For more information, see Publication 526.

Cash Contributions for 2013. Cash contributions include those paid in cash, check, electronic funds transfer, debit card, credit card, or payroll deduction. You cannot deduct cash contributions, regardless of the amount, unless you keep one of the following:

1. A bank record that shows the name of the qualified organization, the date of the contribution, and the amount of the contribution. Bank records may include: i) A canceled check, ii) A bank or credit union statement, or iii) A credit card statement.
2. A receipt (or a letter or other written communication) from the qualified organization showing the name of the organization, the date of the contribution, and the amount of the charitable contribution.
3. The payroll deduction records is when you make a contribution by having deduction from your payroll and you must keep a record of the following: i) A pay stub, Form W-2, or other document furnished by your employer that shows the date and amount of the contribution, and ii) A pledge card or other document prepared by or for the qualified organization that shows the name of the organization. If your employer withheld $250 or more from the single paycheck, see Contributions of $250 or more

Charitable Contribution Deduction. When to deduct your donation for 2013? You can deduct your contributions only in the year you actually make them in cash or other property or in a later carry-over year. This applies whether you use the cash or an accrual method of accounting.

Time of making your contribution. Usually, you make a contribution at the time of its unconditional delivery.

1. Contribution by Checks is when you mail to charity is considered delivered on the date you mail it.
2. Charitable Contribution by Text Messaging is when a donation made by text message are deductible in the year you send the text message if the contribution is charged to your telephone or wireless account.
3. Charitable Contribution by Credit Card is when a contribution is charged on your credit card and are deductible in the year you make the charge.
4. Charitable Contribution by Pay-by-Phone account is a contribution made through a pay-by-phone account are considered delivered on the date your financial institution pays the amount.
5. Stock Certificate. A properly endorsed stock certificate is considered delivered on the date of mailing or other delivery to the charity or the charity's agent. However, if you give a stock certificate to your agent or to the issuing corporation for transfer to the name of the charity, your contribution is not delivered until the date of the stock is transferred on the books of the corporation.
6. Promissory Note. If you issue and deliver a promissory note to a charity as a contribution, it is not a contribution until you make the note payments.
7. Option. If you grant a charity an option to buy real property at a bargain price, it is not a contribution until the organization exercises the option.
8. Borrowed Funds. If you contribute borrowed funds, you can deduct the contribution in the year you deliver the funds to the charity, regardless of when you repay the loan.

Note: Limits on deduction applies. The amount that you can deduct for charitable contributions cannot be more than 50% of your adjusted gross income (AGI) and that your deduction may be further limited to 30% or 20% of your AGI, depending on the type of property you give and the type of organization you give it to. If your total contributions for the year are 20% or less of your AGI, these limits do not apply to you. Proof of contribution is very important, so make sure your keep your records in a safe place.

Medical ad Dental Expenses for 2013. You can deduct only the part of your medical and dental expenses that is more than 10% of your adjusted gross income (7.5% if either you or your spouse is age 65 or older).

What Expenses Can You Include This Year? You can include only the medical and dental expenses you paid this year, regardless of when the services were provided. If you pay medical expenses by check, the day you mail or deliver the check generally is the date of payment. if you use a "pay-by-phone" or "online" account to pay your medical expenses, the date reported on the statement of the financial institution showing when payment was made is the date of payment. If you use credit card, include medical expenses you charge to your credit card in the year the charge is made, not when you actually pay the amount charged.

Separate returns. If you and your spouse live in a community property state and file separate returns, each of you can include only the medical expenses each actually paid. Any medical expenses paid out of a joint checking account in which you and your spouse have the same interest are considered to have been paid equally by each of you, unless you can show otherwise.

Community property states. If you and your spouse live in a community property state and file separate returns in Nevada, Washington, or California, any medical expenses paid out of community funds are divided equally. Each of you should include half the expenses. If medical expenses are paid out of the separate funds of one individual, only the individual who paid the medical expenses can include them. If you live in a community property state, and are not filing a joint return. For more information, visit our page under Community Property or see Publication 555 of the IRS...

Insurance premiums you can include in your medical expenses insurance premiums you pay for policies that cover medical cal care. Medical care policies can provide payment for treatments that includes:

• Hospitalization, surgical services, X-rays,
• Prescription drugs and insulin,
• Dental care,
• Replacement of lost or damaged contact lenses, and
• Long-term care (subject to additional limitations). For more information, see Qualified Long-Term care Insurance Contracts in Publication 502.

If you have a policy that provides payments for other than medical care, you can include the premiums for the medical care part of the policy if the charge for the medical care part is reasonable. The cost of the medical part must be separately stated in the insurance contract or given to you in a separate statement.

When figuring the amount of insurance premiums you can include in medical expenses on Schedule A, do not include any health coverage tax credit advance payments shown in box 1 of your Form 1099-H, Health Coverage Tax Credit (HCTC) Advance Payments. Also, do not include insurance premiums attributable to a non-dependant child under age 27 if your premiums increased as a result of adding this child to your policy.

You cannot have more than $2,500 in salary reduction contributions made to a health FSA for plan years beginning after 2012. Health flexible spending arrangement (health FSA). If your employer provides a health FSA that qualifies as an accident or health plan, the amount of your salary reduction, and reimbursements of your medical care expenses, in most cases, are not included in your income.

Note: Health FSAs are subject to a $2,500 limit on salary reduction contributions for plan years beginning after 2012. The $2,500 limit is subject to an inflation adjustment for plan years beginning after 2013.

Ponzi-type Investment Schemes for 2013. There are new rules for how to claim a theft loss deduction on Form 4684 due to a Ponzi-type investment scheme. There is a New Section C of Form 4684 for Ponzi-type investment schemes. Section C of Form 4684 is new for 2013. You must complete Section C if you are claiming a theft loss deduction due to a Ponzi-type investment scheme and are using Revenue Procedure 2009-20, as modified by Revenue Procedure 2011-58. Section C of form 4684 replaces Appendix A in Revenue Procedure 2009-20. You do not need to complete Appendix A.

Losses from Ponzi-type investment schemes. If you had a loss from a Ponzi-type investment scheme, check-out: i) Revenue Ruling 2009-9, 2009-14 I.R.B. 735, ii) Revenue Procedure 2009-20, 2009-14 I.R.B. 749, iii) Revenue Procedure 2011-58, 2011-50 I.R.B. 849

If you qualify to use Revenue Procedure 2009-20, as modified by Revenue Procedure 2011-58, and you choose to follow the procedures in the guidance, you must first fill out Section C of Form 4684 to determine the amount to enter on Section B, line 28. Skip line 19 to 27. Section C of Form 4684 replaces Appendix A in Revenue Procedure 2009-20. You do not need to complete Appendix A. If you choose not to use the procedures in Revenue Procedure 2009-20, you may claim your theft loss by filling out Section B, lines 19 to 39, as appropriate.

Certain Children Under Age 19 or Full-Time Students. If your child's only income is interest and dividends, including capital gain distributions and Alaska Permanent Fund dividends. And, your child is under the age 19 at the end of 2013 or was a full-time student and/or under the age of 24 at the end of 2013, and certain other conditions are met. A parent can elect to include the child's income on the parent's return. If this election is made, the child does not have to file a return.

A parent can elect to report their child's interest and dividends including capital gain distributions on their tax return. If you do elect to do this, your child will not have to file a return.

A parent can make this election only if all of the following conditions are met: i) The child was under age 19 or under the age of 24 and is a full-time student at the end of tax year 2013, ii) The child had income only from interest and dividends including capital gain distributions and Alaska Permanent Fund dividends, iii) The child's gross income was less than $10,000, iv) The child is required to file a return unless you choose to make this election, v) the child does not file a joint return for the year, vi) No estimated tax payment was made for the year, and no overpayment from the previous year or from any amended return that was applied for 2013 under your child's name and social security number, vii) No federal income tax was taken out of your child's income under the backup withholding rules, viii) You are the parent whose return must be used when applying the special tax rules for children.

A nonresident alien is when a person is married to a nonresident of the United States, then they may qualify to claim as Head of Household, if the person treats the spouse as a nonresident alien for income tax purposes. However, there must be an additional person that qualifies as a qualifying individual. The nonresident alien spouse does not qualify as a qualifying individual for Head of Household status.

For more information about Head of Household status, click here!

Topics: Qualifying Individual for Head of Household status

• Form 8863 Education Credits

List of IRS forms that 1040 filers can begin filing in late February or into March 2013. The following tax forms will be accepted by the IRS in late February or into March 2013 after updating forms and completing programming and testing of its processing systems. A specific date will be announced in the near future.

• Form 3800 - General Business Credit
• Form 4136 - Credit for Federal Tax Paid on Fuels
• Form 4562 - Depreciation and Amortization (including information on Listed Property)
• Form 5074 - Allocation of Individual Income Tax to Guam or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
• Form 5471 - Information Return of U.S. Persons with Respect to certain Foreign Corporations
• Form 5695 - Residential Energy Credits
• Form 5735 - American Samoa Economic Development Credit
• Form 5884 - Work Opportunity Credit
• Form 6478 - Credit for Alcohol Used as Fuel
• Form 6765 - Credit for Increasing Research Activities
• Form 8396 - Mortgage Interest Credit
• Form 8582 - Passive Activity Loss Limitations
• Form 8820 - Orphan Drug Credit
• Form 8834 - Qualified Plug-in Electric and Electric Vehicle Credit
• Form 8839 - Qualified Adoption Expenses
• Form 8844 - Empowerment Zone and Renewal Community Employment Credit
• Form 8845 - Indian Employment Credit
• Form 8859 - District of Columbia First-Time Homebuyer Credit
• Form 8864 - Biodiesel and Renewable Diesel Fuels Credit
• Form 8874 - New Markets Credits
• Form 8900 - Qualified Railroad Track Maintenance Credit
• Form 8903 - Domestic Production Activities Deduction
• Form 8908 - Energy Efficient Home Credit
• Form 8909 - Energy Efficient Appliance Credit
• Form 8910 - Alternative motor Vehicle Credit
• Form 8911 - Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit
• Form 8912 - Credit to Holders of Tax Credit Bonds
• Form 8923 - Mine Rescue Team training Credit
• Form 8932 - Credit for Employer Differential Wage Payments
• Form 8936 - Qualified Plug-in Electric Drive Motor Vehicle Credit

Form availability will be posted here.