Bitcoin Forum

Hey all.  I know it has been a while since I posted.  I'm still looking to start a drive to raise funds for the local CCFA (Crohns & Colitis Foundation of America) here in San Diego.  I contacted the organization, and they do not take bitcoins yet.  (I'll continue working with them though)

Here's my previous post on this subject:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=272614.msg2940084#msg2940084


So...my question is this:  If I set up a charity and actually get a decent response (My wild dream is to raise 10 bitcoins), exchange the bitcoins for USD through coinbase, will it affect my taxes?  or does it become a wash? 

Here's a link to the charity I was going to attempt to raise funds for:
http://online.ccfa.org/site/TR/2012TakeStepsWalk/Chapter-GreaterSanDiegoandDesertArea?fr_id=4397&pg=entry

The 'team' would be some combination of my wife's Crohns blog and bitcoin.  I imagine i'll have her hold up a giant printed bitcoin or something.  I dunno.  Still working on a concept that wouldn't come off as corney.

What taxes...its bitcoin

I hope that's the case.  Let's just say when it comes to the IRS, I make very few assumptions :p

There is 100% absolutely no way the IRS will leave bitcoin alone.

I will only pay taxes on bitcoin, in bitcoin. And you can take THAT to the bank!   8)

If you solicit funds for charity and give them to charity the IRS won't eat you. If you solicit them and do not give them to charity they will. If you give too much earned income to charity they can eat you for that too.

I am a CCFA donor. I get way too much snail mail from them for being on their email list. It's a waste of money, they all get round filed unopened at the post office. If you talk to them please pass that along. I get fundraising, but that is redundant pissing away of contributions and really wasteful. It makes me want to stop giving them anything, to be honest.

What's your wife's blog? PM me if you prefer.

My wife's blog is called CrohnieBolognaIBD.  Here's a link: http://crohniebolognaibd.blogspot.com/

Between blog posts, she does stuff on her Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/CrohnieBolognaIbd

My 4yo son is Autistic as well.  So she also posts a bunch of stuff about Autism and such.


Sucks to hear that the CCFA sends out spam.  I've found it is very hard to find a charity that doesn't waste a portion of their money.  That said, my wife helps out the doctors down here by counseling patients and providing a resource to those looking for patient-perspective information.  These doctors are all very involved with the Take-Steps thing.  Ultimately though, being involved gives her a strong sense of fulfillment.  And I try to help where I can.  Hell...if she can support me dumping a grand on a BFL miner, and never complaining about it for the year it took to arrive.... I can do a couple things to help out her passions.

Regarding my original question, I found this wall-of-text on Reddit:
http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/1uccfz/i_am_a_tax_attorney_here_are_my_answers_to_the/

I haven't read through it yet as I'm too busy watching the playoffs.  But I imagine it'll be helpful.  But it sounds like if I do a 1:1 donation, like I am planning, then it'll have zero tax implications on my family.

I am not a tax lawyer or accountant so I can't provide official advice, but if you collect X dollars and spend Y on helping a charity (not as a donation but as a service) the amount you have to list as income is X-Y. If you donate Z, you get reductions, but it's not 1:1 on the federal or state level. It should be as simple as that, but there are other particulars involved sometimes.

If you set it up a non-profit, you can probably avoid paying anything in taxes, especially since your fees are probably handling fees that you have to pay someone else like an exchange anyway. Keep in mind that non-profits have their own regulations and rules to follow, though.

The IRS will never leave bitcoin alone!