New Tax Receipt Question

[wrigjef]

I understand that starting either this year or next, that donation tax statements will be sent to members from Salt Lake. I guess this will take care of the moving member. My question is would the tax receipt reflect donations made to another unit even though a members address is the same? For example we have some units in our stake who have missionaries out that are not supported by their families. As a result their ward missionary account is oven overdrawn. If I were to donate to another wards ward missionary account, would that show up on the receipt that I get from the church?

[jdlessley]

I understand that starting either this year or next, that donation tax statements will be sent to members from Salt Lake. I guess this will take care of the moving member. My question is would the tax receipt reflect donations made to another unit even though a members address is the same? For example we have some units in our stake who have missionaries out that are not supported by their families. As a result their ward missionary account is oven overdrawn. If I were to donate to another wards ward missionary account, would that show up on the receipt that I get from the church?

If a member makes all their donations to one unit throughout a calendar year they will receive their tax statement from that unit. If they make donations to more than one unit their tax statement will come from Church headquaters. See the Donors section of the wiki article Church Unit Banking Services (CUBS).

With the information of your example, you would receive your tax statement from Church headquarters with all your donations linked to your membership number. If you did not provide enough information to the other ward to link your donation to you through your membership number then any donations made to that ward would not appear on your tax statement. And if all those unlinked donations were the only donations you made outside your home unit then your tax statement would be provided by your home unit and you would not see those donations on that statement.

If you want all your donations made outside your home unit to appear on a tax statement you need to make sure each unit you make a donation has your membership number to link those donations to you. When you do, you will receive you tax statement from Church headquarters.

[aebrown]

If you want all your donations made outside your home unit to appear on a tax statement you need to make sure each unit you make a donation has your membership number to link those donations to you. When you do, you will receive you tax statement from Church headquarters.

I don't think this is possible -- I think you are drawing an incorrect conclusion about the new statements that will be available for donors who donate to multiple wards.

The new statements will be available for members who actually have membership records in one ward and make donations there, then move to a different ward and make donations there, all within a single calendar year. Only when you are actually a member of a ward are your donations linked to your membership record. If you are not a member of a ward (such as in the example of donating to another ward's Ward Missionary Fund), there is no way in MLS to link a membership record to a donor.

The one possible exception to the above is for actual Out of unit records; in that case there can be a linkage to a membership record. But that would not be appropriate for someone who is simply a donor who is a member of another unit.

[aebrown]

For example we have some units in our stake who have missionaries out that are not supported by their families. As a result their ward missionary account is oven overdrawn. If I were to donate to another wards ward missionary account, would that show up on the receipt that I get from the church?

The stake can facilitate moving ward missionary funds from one ward to another. That is what we have done in a similar situation in our stake. Donors continue to make donations to their own ward's missionary fund, but then funds are transferred (via check) from the ward with a surplus to the ward with the need; such a transfer may be made from ward to ward or through the stake. If that method is used, then donors will only be donating to their own ward, and thus all those donations will show up on the receipt issued by the donor's home ward.

In any case, even if you make donations to another unit, that unit should be sending you a year-end tax statement. Those instructions have not changed. I don't think we are safe in ignoring those long-standing instructions, until we receive more specific instructions about these new statements issued by the Church.

[wrigjef]

Thanks. While I think the ultimate plan is to eventually generate all tax receipts and mail them from HQ. The answer I got from SL yesterday is to print and have the Bishop Sign receipts then deliver them from the ward exactly like we did last year.