Streams of Consciousness & Thoughts~~~

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maxwel

Senior Member
Apr 18, 2013
9,367
2,444
113
Actually Christian Chat is a duly registered religious non-profit in the Philippines (where RoboOp lives).

That being said, even the founder of a non-profit has the right to solicit donations from those who utilize it's services. The last time I checked just about every non-profit solicits donations in some way or another for one purpose; to cover the costs of the services they provide. In the case of CC this would include server bills (one for the forums, one for the chat rooms) and what is left over is RoboOp's salary. In most months what is left over is a pittance even without considering the number of hours that RoboOp puts into feature development (predominantly for chat since the forum is commercially available software).
That's fantastic.

So when an American donates to a non-profit registered in the Philippines,
is it a tax deductible donation for us, back in America?
 

Oncefallen

Idiot in Chief
Staff member
Jan 15, 2011
6,031
3,267
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That's fantastic.

So when an American donates to a non-profit registered in the Philippines,
is it a tax deductible donation for us, back in America?
Beats me, that would be a question for a CPA.

A few years back Robo had talked about registering as a US 501c3 (since the majority of our donations come from American users) being a financial impossibility. The IRS filing fee ranges from $400 - $850, and the cost of a professional to prepare the documents (one error and it gets thrown out) runs over $2,000.
 

maxwel

Senior Member
Apr 18, 2013
9,367
2,444
113
Oncefallen,

It looks like contributions to a foreign non-profit are NOT tax deductible under U.S. law.


I'm not a tax expert; I just looked these tax laws up out of curiosity...
if you're aware of a different ruling, or policy, please post it for everyone.

We all know how complicated the tax codes are.
: )

An individual making a contribution to a charitable organization is entitled to an income tax deduction under Section 170(a) only if the organization is "created or organized in the United States or in any possession thereof, or under the laws of the United States, any State, the District of Columbia, or any possession of the United States."3 Thus, contributions by individuals to a charity created or organized under foreign law are not deductible for income tax purposes.
 
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Tintin

Guest
Crap! Our bearded dragon lizard, Herbie just passed away. Went to feed him this morning and he was on his back. Not cool. R.I.P. little buddy. Have fun in Heaven.
 
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MollyConnor

Guest
Crap! Our bearded dragon lizard, Herbie just passed away. Went to feed him this morning and he was on his back. Not cool. R.I.P. little buddy. Have fun in Heaven.
I'm sorry, Tin! I hope you and your family are okay. How long did you all have him?

I've had two iguanas in my lifetime, never a bearded dragon though.

LOL I was confused b/c you said 'this morning' and 'just passed away' and I thought "it's 11 PM!" But I understand now, you live far far away.
 
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CarolSampaio

Guest
Crap! Our bearded dragon lizard, Herbie just passed away. Went to feed him this morning and he was on his back. Not cool. R.I.P. little buddy. Have fun in Heaven.
I am so sorry, Tintin! :( Hope you guys are well...
 
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Tintin

Guest
I'm sorry, Tin! I hope you and your family are okay. How long did you all have him?

I've had two iguanas in my lifetime, never a bearded dragon though.

LOL I was confused b/c you said 'this morning' and 'just passed away' and I thought "it's 11 PM!" But I understand now, you live far far away.
Thank you, Molly. A couple from church gave us two bearded dragons about 10 years ago. I'm not sure how old they were then. Sadly, a few years later, one of them escaped. Herbie has been with us since. Bearded dragon lizards are native to Australia. I didn't know that you had two iguanas! That's very cool. Yes, it's almost 2PM here. Time-zones, eh?
 

lil_christian

Senior Member
Mar 14, 2010
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Crap! Our bearded dragon lizard, Herbie just passed away. Went to feed him this morning and he was on his back. Not cool. R.I.P. little buddy. Have fun in Heaven.
Oh no :( I didn't know you had a lizard named Herbie!! Lizards are cool, though, and it's sad to hear he passed away. RIP little guy.
 

lil_christian

Senior Member
Mar 14, 2010
7,489
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Actually. Recently I saw a chameleon for sale in a pet store. He was so cool looking. If I could afford it or had room I'd totally take a chameleon. Frikkin' amazing things. And could you think of all the stuff you could put in the cage for it to change colors on?? Man that'd be so cool.


It's also 1:20 am here and when I wake up later on in the morning I'm probably gonna raise an eyebrow in confusion at what I just wrote.
 
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Tintin

Guest
Oh no :( I didn't know you had a lizard named Herbie!! Lizards are cool, though, and it's sad to hear he passed away. RIP little guy.
Thank you, Evie. I appreciate your kind thoughts.

Love chameleons. I've never seen one in real life though. *creates bucket list*