Shelter Tax Credits

Making your contributions go further

WHAT ARE TAX CREDITS?

Individuals who owe Missouri State tax and who donate $100 or more (in cash, stocks, or bonds only) to The Shelter are eligible for a 50% tax credit off their Missouri State Tax return.  For example, if you donate $100 to The Shelter, you can receive a tax credit for $50 off your state income tax.  The credits may be applied toward the Missouri State tax of any kind of taxable income. 

HOW IT WORKS

For Missouri State Tax Credits

To qualify:

• You must pay or owe Missouri state taxes
• You must donate MONEY of $100 or more to a domestic violence shelter in Missouri (preferably ours)

How it works—example:

1. You make a donation to The Shelter of $100 or more
2. We send you a “thank you” with a tax credit application form
3. You complete and sign the form and return it in the envelope we provided
4. We review the form, make sure everything is correct and/or complete, sign it, and send it to the Department of Social Services (DSS) for approval.
5. DSS sends you the tax credit totaling ½ your gift (if you give $100, you receive a tax credit of $50, for example)

Other issues:

1. You can claim BOTH Missouri State Tax Credits and a Federal Charitable Contribution for the same donation.

Example:
You gave $500 to The Shelter in 2006.  You received a $250 Missouri Tax Credit.  You can still claim the $500 donation as part of your charitable contributions deduction on your federal taxes.

2. If you have been given tax credits that total more than you owe on your state taxes, you can spread the credit out for up to 5 years

Example:
You gave $20,000 to the Shelter and received $10,000 in State Tax Credits.  You only owe $9,000 in Missouri taxes, however.  You can apply your credit to the $9,000 owed this year (meaning you’d have to pay $0 in Missouri State taxes this year) and still have $1,000 remaining that you can apply to next year’s taxes.

3. If you believe you will receive a refund from the Missouri Dept. of Revenue because you have paid state taxes throughout the year via payroll, you can still apply the tax credit.  It will increase your refund.

Example:
After completing your tax return, you see that you’ll receive a $20 refund from the MO Dept. of Revenue.  However, you also have a $5,000 tax credit from a $10,000 gift you made to The Shelter.  Your total refund would now be $5,020 –assuming your original liability (what you owed the state) was greater than $5,020 for the year.

4. If you forget to complete, sign and submit the tax credit application, you may still have some options. You can submit tax credit applications for up to one year from the date of the donation.

Example Problem 1:
You threw away the form when you received our “thank you” but realized later you need it to claim your tax credits.

Solution: 
Call us at (573) 875-0503.  We will send another form to you with a return envelope—as long as you discovered your error within 1 year of the gift, there will be no problem getting the credit.

Example Problem 2:
You planned on submitting the tax credit with your Missouri State Tax Return but realized as you were doing your taxes that you were supposed to send the form back to us to get the credit.  You really wanted the credit for this year’s taxes.

Solution: 
Call us at (573) 875-0503.  If you discovered the problem prior to March 1st, we should still be able to get the form submitted and a tax credit to you in time for the April 15th filing deadline.  In the meantime, you can complete your tax return as if you had the credit in hand.  You will have to wait until you receive the credit before submitting your return, however.  If you discovered the problem after March 1st, we may not be able to make the April 15th deadline (sometimes we can put a “rush” on an application, so call us before “giving up”).  You can still get the tax credit and use it with next year’s return, however.

<< Back to top

FAQS ABOUT TAX CREDITS

Question:  Can I claim a federal charitable deduction on my federal taxes if I have a State tax credit for the same donation?

Yes, you can claim the charitable deduction on your federal taxes even if you also have a state tax credit.  In this way, a $100 gift can cost you less than half this amount.

$100 donation - $50 state tax credit = $50 - $20 federal deduction (estimate) = $30 total cost

Question:  Can I still get tax credits for this year?

There are 2 considerations when determining WHEN you want to make your contribution.  The first consideration is when do you file your taxes and for what period of time?  Although MOST people file their taxes based on a calendar year (January-December) some file quarterly or have fiscal years that straddle the “calendar year”.  When you file your taxes, determines when you can first claim them.

Example 1:  You gave $100 to The Shelter in January but you file your taxes quarterly.  You can claim your tax credit on your first quarter tax report if you have the credit by your filing deadline. 

Example 2:  You gave $100 to The Shelter on 12-31-06 and you file annually on the calendar year.  You can claim the credit on your 2006 tax return if you have your credit by the April 15th filing deadline. 

As long as The Shelter receives your donation before 12-31 at midnight, you can receive tax credits for the same fiscal year.  Remember, the donation must be $100.00 or more to qualify for State Tax Credits.  Once we receive the donation, we will send you a “thank you” along with a tax credit application.  Complete the application and return it in the envelope provided.  You should receive your tax credit in the mail within 2–3 weeks after this.  The tax credit will equal ½ the amount of the donation.

The second consideration is what The Shelter’s tax credit availability status is.  Tax Credits are allocated on July 1st.  The best time to give large donations is always July or August when The Shelter is sure to have tax credits available no matter what size your gift.  If you wish to make a donation in the 2nd quarter of the year (April-June) and your gift will be fairly large ($5,000 or more), please call The Shelter first to ensure we have enough credits left to cover your donation.  If we don’t, you may want to wait until July 1st to make your contribution.

Question:  I mailed a donation earlier in the year, but I forgot to mail in my tax credit form.  Can I still get tax credits for this year?

You can mail your tax credit application (and still receive the credits) up to one calendar year from the date of the donation.  If you returned the application too late to have it processed before the April tax return deadline, you can still apply your credit to next year’s taxes.  However, any application received before March 1 should be processed in plenty of time for this year’s tax return.

Question:  Do I have to notarize the tax credit application? 

No.  We receive our tax credits through the Missouri Department of Social Services and their applications do not require notarization. 

Question:  How difficult is the application to complete?

The form is very easy to complete.  Essentially it asks you to list your name, address, social security number, and the amount of the donation.  We will take it from there.  NOTE:  If you file your taxes jointly with another party, both parties must sign the application before it can be processed.  Donors who are businesses may have to include a list of owners, the owners’ social security number(s) and the percentage of ownership for each owner (s-corporations or partnerships).

Question: Can we get tax credits on any kind of income?

Yes, as long as the income was earned in Missouri and has a Missouri Tax Liability attached to it.  Even if you expect to receive a refund this year on your earnings, the tax credit will increase your refund.   

Question:  I haven’t received my tax credit application in the mail yet.

You should receive your application no later than one week from the date we received your gift.  Call our Fiscal Manager at 875-0503 (Jennifer Graves) to see when your application was mailed.  

Question:  I received a thank you but didn’t get a tax credit application with it.

<< Back to top