this post was submitted on 02 Mar 2026
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I wrote a free spec script for a charity organization, enabling me to write off ~$50k in charitable donations for putting in a few hours of work.
Everyone should be looking for loopholes and ways to prevent the US government from getting their money.
I asked a CPA about this idea a couple months ago and was told that it doesn't work that way, and everything I can find on the internet backs that up. Can you provide a source saying otherwise?
I'm gonna agree with you. If OP gets audited, this will not hold up. OP cannot deduct money for a service that the charity pays nothing for. Only unreimbursed or out of pocket expenses can be deducted this way
The IRS actually already did look it over. They decided (rather arbitrarily) that the script I donated was worth ~50,000 instead of ~70,000 as I was trying to claim. Definitely not a full audit, but they already reviewed it at some level and it passed muster.
Right because you're donating intellectual property which is property. And that distinction is fucking nonsense but here we are. I doubt a full audit would allow market prices to survive on that though. They'd be like "hey now, this didn't cost you that." But to do a full audit we'd actually have to fund the IRS. Good luck getting that to happen.
But would not that depend on how OP's time is valued in this case? OP could argue that their expertise costs $14000/hour ($70000 over 5 hours). I am sure that they would argue the hour cost, I have not clue how the IRS handles something like this.
As I understand it, technically the "thing of value" is the script itself - because it doesn't have a clearly defined value you can get away with claiming some fairly crazy valuations.
There's a very similar tax loophole popular with the wealthy where you get a "great deal" on some slightly valuable art, donate it to charity, get it valued by an "expert" you know, who just happens to think it's worth many times what you paid, then write that off on your taxes. Basically free money.
They don't let you deduct the cost of your own labor ever. The property thing is the loophole (but after further research not a real loophole and they will nail you for it).
Yes, but ... if you use your own labor to create a product, and then donate the product, you can deduct the value of the product.
Other than my tax returns from that year? Not really.
You sound like every business man ever.
You must learn from your enemy to defeat them.
This has “I….DECLARE…..BANKRUPTCY!!!” vibes.
I intend to pass the loophole my parents gave me to my children, really grateful for it