Mikvah Fees Tax-Deductible?

amother

Sun, Aug 24 2014, 3:19 am

I got an extension so I am working on taxes now. I'm curious - could mikvah fees be considered tax-deductible donations? There are two mikvahs I go to regularly. Neither gives me a donation receipt, but one of the mikvahs is registered as a 501(c) and the other is attached to a shul building, so the shul is a 501(c).

Mrs Bissli

Sun, Aug 24 2014, 3:33 am

I highly doubt it. After all they are fees--something you pay in exchange for benefits (use of water, towels, amenities, mikva lady services), rather than donations. It's not dissimilar to charity function dinners--where the per plate part for the meal is not tax deductible, and only the additional donation part is.

amother

Sun, Aug 24 2014, 9:24 am

Ritualarium fees are tax deductible, or at least they were when I got married, but double-check with your accountant. You may want to think twice about deducting them, anyway, for reasons of privacy. I used to pay by check so I could deduct, but then realized that that gives the kehilla and my accountant an exact record of when I went to the mikvah. Even if I predated the check, they'd still know how often I went.

So I calcualated: If the annual fees came to, say, $250, remember that deductions are not dollar-for-dollar off your taxes but off your income. So how much tax am I saving by reducing my income $250 a year? $70-80, tops? Depends on your tax bracket, the lower your bracket the less you save. For $80 a year, I'll keep my privacy, thank you very much. So then I started paying cash.

amother

Tue, Aug 26 2014, 6:42 am

OP. I do my taxes on TurboTax. I suppose if I were to ask for a receipt at the end of the year (I picture a receipt with a single sum, not a list of dates with each time I paid), somebody would have to go through my records to get the total, but the truth is that I'm relatively new in town and relatively newly married and I don't know anyone who works at either mikvah and they don't know me. The mikvah that's attached to the shul is not a shul I've ever been to for Shabbat because it's in the next town over. So I'm not that concerned with privacy because the people who would find out don't know me and don't care either. Oh, and I didn't change my name legally when I got married, so the name on the check is different from the name I go by socially in the community. DH thinks that as long as I have the check copy, I don't need a receipt from the organization, so maybe the privacy issue around getting a receipt is a non-issue.

I know I won't save that much money on my taxes. My motivation is that I hate everything about TH and the mikvah, like with pure rage and hatred, and the idea that I could get some financial benefit out of going is oddly appealing. I certainly do not feel that I've gotten a spiritual or even a physical benefit out of the mikvah (we have intimacy issues and shalom bayit issues).

imasinger

Tue, Aug 26 2014, 6:47 am

I think amother's DH is right about the check copy sufficing.

But those pennies saved on taxes are paltry comfort. Amother, are you getting help with the real issues?

theoneandonly

Thu, Aug 28 2014, 1:06 pm

amother wrote:

Ritualarium fees are tax deductible, or at least they were when I got married, but double-check with your accountant.

Do you have a source for this? I was looking all over the IRS website and couldn't find it anywhere...

amother

Thu, Aug 28 2014, 1:11 pm

theoneandonly wrote:

Do you have a source for this? I was looking all over the IRS website and couldn't find it anywhere...

A relative of mine fought it out with the IRS on an audit embarrassed

and was allowed to count it. For donations under $15 the cancelled checks are enough. Why do you have to give your accountant all your checks? Just tell him that I have $X of charitable (and mikva) donations and I have all receipts at home.

amother

Thu, Aug 28 2014, 1:42 pm

This is a personal expense. It is not deductible. It is not a a contribution. You can not deduct it. It might appear you can because the receipt is from a charitable org.

IRS Publication 529

I would like to see any authority for this.

amother

Thu, Aug 28 2014, 1:52 pm

In the US for checks/ CC donations under $250 you dont need a receipt.

theoneandonly

Thu, Aug 28 2014, 1:52 pm

amother wrote:

A relative of mine fought it out with the IRS on an audit embarrassed

Really? Wow. Under what basis, as charity?

amother

Thu, Aug 28 2014, 1:53 pm

Posting anon so I have no professional responsibility. It is a complicated issue. I personally do not take mikvah fees because there is services received. However, when services are of religious value only like a seat at high holidays they are most certainly considered a contribution. With the mikvah I am conservative because there is a paid mikvah lady and the IRS could argue that the fees are for service, although they likely would not and if you are taking $18 a month, this is not material to an audit. The maximum marginal benefit to a family in a higher tax bracket is no more than $75.

Mivkah dues on the other hand are certainly tax deductible because there is no quid pro quo. You donate regardless of if you use the mivkah and there is no representation of fee for service in that there would be no refunds for non-usage or limited usage. You get the benefit of going as a member, but you certainly do not need to go. Anyone can join the mikvah. Where I live, there are even previous married and widowed men that join in addition to shul membership and eruv contributions. They consider the mikvah part of their duty to contribute to supporting the community. Our mivkah issues a receipt of no goods and services in exchange for the contribution and for any donation $250 and more that receipt must be issued and on hand.

A cancelled check made to a 501c3 or shul is sufficient documentation. You accountant does not need to audit your receipts. He or she should rely on your representations for these small amounts. For larger contributions, it would make sense for the accountant to exercise some due diligence and you should be honest and ask your accountant's position on the issue of mikvah use fees, while presenting a representation for dues for which you have a receipt if they are over $250 should be more than sufficient for your accountant.