Donation Records and History under One Name

[lajackson]

Just to make it clear, when the check box is checked:

• the donation amount of each spouse appears on my 2014 "---Tax summary statement"

However on the "Donation History" and " Donor Statement of Contributions" (seems to be year to date.) my spouse's online donations are not listed, but the ward donations, of my spouse are.

I assume that this has to do with how the donations were entered into MLS?

I would guess that your ward clerk has recorded donations from both you and your spouse under your name in MLS. This would cause all of those donations to show up on your 2014 summary.

If you and your spouse each have contributed via Online Donations, the donations of one of you would not show up on the other summary.

[katzpur]

So, if I'm understanding this correctly, the Church's records for online donations will be in either the husband's or the wife's name, but not both. Am I right? My husband and I have a joint checking account, but I handle the bills. If I want to split the amounts we donate right down the middle -- half to be applied under my name and half to be applied under his name, I cannot do this online. Correct?

And at tithing settlement, we could both claim to be full tithe payers, even though the Church records only show one of us as having made a donation?

[eblood66]

So, if I'm understanding this correctly, the Church's records for online donations will be in either the husband's or the wife's name, but not both. Am I right? My husband and I have a joint checking account, but I handle the bills. If I want to split the amounts we donate right down the middle -- half to be applied under my name and half to be applied under his name, I cannot do this online. Correct?

You cannot do that yourself online. You'd have to do your donations and your husband would have to do his.

However, you can go into the Settings option on the Donations screen online and check the box to display your spouses name. This won't change which donations show up in which account but when you print the donation reports and tax statements both names will be included on the reports.

And at tithing settlement, we could both claim to be full tithe payers, even though the Church records only show one of us as having made a donation?

Most certainly. Even when you donate jointly using a check or cash to your local unit, the donation is actually only recorded on one account. The clerk just checks the same check box (but in MLS system on the church computer) to display both names on reports. So it is very common for a couple to both declare as full tithe payers even though the donations are linked to only one of the two.

[russellhltn]

Unless you're contemplating a divorce or filing taxes separately(in which case you'd want to keep the accounting separate), I don't think it makes a bit of difference as to which account is used to make the donation. It certainly makes no difference to the church or your standing in the church.

[brucepayne]

We have a new widow in the ward and after recording the death of her spouse we no longer are able to get a printout of his charitable contributions. Since she doesn't have access to her husband's account what is the best way to get her the information for tax purposes? It seems like we need access to these records. As was stated earlier in the thread it would be nice if someone could log in and give permission for someone else to view their contributions.

[eblood66]

We have a new widow in the ward and after recording the death of her spouse we no longer are able to get a printout of his charitable contributions. Since she doesn't have access to her husband's account what is the best way to get her the information for tax purposes? It seems like we need access to these records. As was stated earlier in the thread it would be nice if someone could log in and give permission for someone else to view their contributions.

The ward should still be able to print a record of any donations made in that ward. In MLS this is done by printing a Donor report or a Tax Statement. In LCR, you would use the Participants tab to print his donations (you may have to check the 'Include the "Out of Unit" participants' in order to see his entry). It may be possible to generate a tax statement in LCR but I can't verify that. If you can't generate a tax statement for him then you should contact Local Unit Support and ask how to get his tax statement.

[maxwell4lujeane]

This is definitely an emotional problem. My husband and I have ALWAYS paid our donations together. Now since it can only be under one name I feel out of order to put it in my name even though I take care of the finances. I have always respected my husband's priesthood and recognize his alzheimers status shouldn't be an issue. What is the proper thing to do?

[rmrichesjr]

The question of what is the "proper" thing to do in difficult circumstances is not always easily answered. I would suggest getting the counsel of your bishop or other local priesthood leaders, because they will have the inspiration to best advise with your particular situation.

At the risk of perhaps going a little outside the usual bounds of technology-related issues that are the charter of this forum, I would be inclined to do what works best on a practical basis. As a matter of my personal opinion, if my wife handled our family finances, I would not consider it disrespectful for her to do the donations in her name if that is what worked best.

[russellhltn]

The question of what is the "proper" thing to do in difficult circumstances is not always easily answered. I would suggest getting the counsel of your bishop or other local priesthood leaders, because they will have the inspiration to best advise with your particular situation.

However, wither they realize it or not, they will be constrained by the limitations listed above - it can only be under one name but print outs can list both.

I would be inclined to do what works best on a practical basis.

Something to consider, if the husband passes away, his LDS Account will be deactivated. There is another message were a sister is having problems getting access to the donation history after the husband passed away. You can always set your account to display "your" donations on his account.

[lajackson]

can I access my donation records for 2016 at this site?

Go to LDS.org and select Donations in the middle column of the drop down box under My Account and Ward, which will also have your name by it if you are signed in. If you go there directly from here, you should not have to sign in again, but if you go there later and are not signed in, you will be taken to the sign in page on the way to the Donation page.

Once at the Donations page, you have your choice on the left side either to view your Donation History or to access your actual Donation Reports.