What date do I enter for the donation....the date the office received the check or the date that the check was written?

We enter the date the check was received as a cash gift and in the appropriate box we put the date of the check. Hope that helps.

We enter the date the check was received as a processing date, the date the check was written just for reference, but in the US, the date of the postmark on the envelope the check came in is the "gift date" that has to go on the tax receipt and that governs when the donor can take the tax deduction for that gift. Hope that helps. Tina Wilfer Development Assistant Fox Cities Performing Arts Center Appleton, WI [Email Removed]

When a gift is adjusteddo you change the original gift date? My accountant want the gift date changed to the adjustment date so it will reflect on the fund summary report. some how I don't think this is right. Linda Martin Gift Coordinator

What are you adjusting in the gift record? We never adjust the original gift date.

Linda, I would find a new accountant before I changed the original gift date. That would change all your cumulative gift totals and really mess up your gift history. Your accountant should be concerned with leaving an audit trail for any changes made. Changing the original gift date would be a really bad idea! Tina Wilfer Fox Cities Performing Arts Center

Can you clarify where I would find documentation that states the "date of the postmark on the envelope the check came in is the gift date"?

Ruth, IRS Publication 526, p.9, When to Deduct. It's also in the regs but I don't know the reference off hand and don't have time to research it for you now. If you need something more authoritative than the Pub, try going to IRS.gov. Tina Tina Wilfer Development Assistant Fox Cities Performing Arts Center Appleton, WI [Email Removed]

I'm not sure where you would find documentation, but the only time we use the post mark on the envelope is at the end of the year-specifically Dec. 31st for tax deduction purposes. We keep Dec. open into the first week or so of January to make sure anything postmarked Dec. 31st gets processed otherwise we use the date the envelope was opened as the gift date. Tiffany Tallman Tacoma Rescue Mission