Contents Introduction  ........................................ 1 Organizations That Qualify To Receive Deductible Contributions  ............................... 2 Contributions You Can Deduct  ........ 3 Contributions You Cannot Deduct  ... 5 Contributions of Property  ................. 6 When To Deduct ................................. 8 Limits on Deductions  ........................ 9 Records To Keep  ............................... 12 How To Report  ................................... 13 How To Get More Information  .......... 14 Index  .................................................... 16 Introduction This publication discusses organizations that are qualified to receive deductible charitable contributions, the types of contributions you can deduct, how much you can deduct, what records to keep, and how to report charitable contributions.  A  charitable contribution  is a  donation  or  gift  to,  or  for  the  use  of,  a qualified organization. It is voluntary and is made  without  getting,  or  expecting  to  get, anything of equal value. Qualified organizations. Qualified organiza- tions include nonprofit groups that are reli- gious,   charitable,   educational,   scientific,   or literary in purpose, or that work to prevent cruelty to children or animals. You will find descriptions of these organizations under Or- ganizations That Qualify To Receive Deduct- ible Contributions. Form 1040 required. To deduct a charitable contribution,  you  must  file  Form  1040  and itemize    deductions    on    Schedule    A.    The amount of your deduction may be limited if certain rules and limits explained in this pub- lication apply to you. Useful Items You may want to see: Publication m  78 Cumulative List of Organizations m  561 Determining the Value of Donated Property Form (and Instructions) m  Schedule A (Form 1040) Itemized De- ductions m  8283  Noncash Charitable Contributions See  How To Get More Information  near the   end   of   this   publication   for   information about getting these publications and forms. Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service Publication 526 (Rev. March 1998) Cat. No. 15050A Charitable Contributions Get forms and other information faster and easier by:    COMPUTER • World Wide Web ä www.irs.ustreas.gov • FTP ä ftp.irs.ustreas.gov • IRIS at FedWorld ä (703) 321-8020    FAX • From your FAX machine, dial ä (703) 368-9694 See How To Get More Information in this publication.