What is a tax write-off?

There are certain financial transactions where, if you have lost money on them, you can deduct that loss from your income, and therefore not have to pay tax on that part of what you earned. THAT'S a tax write-off.

What is charitable giving?

Charitable giving is something done by people who have money. The word "charity" is based on a Greek word that carries the meaning of "love". Charitable giving is done from a motivation of love. Governments encourage charitable giving by allowing givers to deduct what they give from their gross income at tax time.

this is very random, but it looks like the background is a green screen, but I can't really tell, can anyone tell if it's a green screen or not.

Pretty late to answer, but as someone studying film in university I can guarantee that isn't a green screen. I've worked with them extensively myself. Sal appears to have a bit of green lighting behind the bookshelf, that's probably what you are seeing. Seems like he just records in his office.

If you donate oh $20000 what will happen , will you name be written down or what ?

If you donate that much money, you'll get a polite "thank you" letter from the organization.

_In the video, Sal talks about how donating a car to charity can give you a big tax write-off. In some scenarios, I have heard of houses and mansions being presented. Does this work in the same way that it does with a car?_*

Public Radio is big on the "donate your car or boat" thing. You give them the car, they give you a receipt for the donation. You use that receipt when you file your taxes and the value of the car is deducted from your gross income, so you don't pay tax on that value.

Main content

Course: Financial Literacy > Unit 4

Lesson 2: Charitable giving

Charitable giving

Name: Charitable giving
Uploaded: 2023-05-03T21:01:13.225276573Z
Description: Charitable giving is the act of donating money, goods, or time to help people in need or support causes you care about. It is good because it makes a positive impact on the lives of others and helps create a better, more compassionate world.

Google Classroom

Charitable giving is the act of donating money, goods, or time to help people in need or support causes you care about. It is good because it makes a positive impact on the lives of others and helps create a better, more compassionate world. Created by Sal Khan.

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Phantom Wizard
Posted a year ago. Direct link to Phantom Wizard's post “What is a tax write-off?”
What is a tax write-off?
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(9 votes)
Answer
- David Alexander
  Posted 10 months ago. Direct link to David Alexander's post “There are certain financi...”
  There are certain financial transactions where, if you have lost money on them, you can deduct that loss from your income, and therefore not have to pay tax on that part of what you earned. THAT'S a tax write-off.
  Button navigates to signup page
  (9 votes)
2045687
Posted 10 months ago. Direct link to 2045687's post “What is charitable giving...”
What is charitable giving?
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(5 votes)
Answer
- David Alexander
  Posted 10 months ago. Direct link to David Alexander's post “Charitable giving is some...”
  Charitable giving is something done by people who have money. The word "charity" is based on a Greek word that carries the meaning of "love". Charitable giving is done from a motivation of love. Governments encourage charitable giving by allowing givers to deduct what they give from their gross income at tax time.
  Comment on David Alexander's post “Charitable giving is some...”
  (7 votes)
fdjflkajdf
Posted 9 months ago. Direct link to fdjflkajdf's post “this is very random, but ...”
this is very random, but it looks like the background is a green screen, but I can't really tell, can anyone tell if it's a green screen or not.
Button navigates to signup pageComment on fdjflkajdf's post “this is very random, but ...”
(3 votes)
Answer
- BigPink
  Posted 4 months ago. Direct link to BigPink's post “Pretty late to answer, bu...”
  Pretty late to answer, but as someone studying film in university I can guarantee that isn't a green screen. I've worked with them extensively myself. Sal appears to have a bit of green lighting behind the bookshelf, that's probably what you are seeing. Seems like he just records in his office.
  Button navigates to signup page
  (5 votes)
White17Tiger
Posted 4 months ago. Direct link to White17Tiger's post “If you donate oh $20000 w...”
If you donate oh $20000 what will happen ,
will you name be written down or what ?
Button navigates to signup pageButton navigates to signup page
(2 votes)
Answer
- David Alexander
  Posted 4 months ago. Direct link to David Alexander's post “If you donate that much m...”
  If you donate that much money, you'll get a polite "thank you" letter from the organization.
  Button navigates to signup page
  (3 votes)
charlene Sayer
Posted 5 months ago. Direct link to charlene Sayer's post “Even if they are using th...”
Even if they are using the money as a tax write off doesn't that still mean that people are getting help?
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(3 votes)
Answer
- David Alexander
  Posted 5 months ago. Direct link to David Alexander's post “Yes. When charitable givi...”
  Yes. When charitable giving is to an organization that helps people, people are being helped, and the donor doesn't have to pay tax on the amount that is given. When charitable giving is to, say, an art museum, or a scientific foundation that funds the search for extraterrestrial life, or to save the whales, or to preserve the coral reefs off the California coast, then it is also tax deductible, but whether it helps people or not is another matter.
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  (1 vote)
Izzy
Posted 8 months ago. Direct link to Izzy's post “_In the video, Sal talks ...”
In the video, Sal talks about how donating a car to charity can give you a big tax write-off. In some scenarios, I have heard of houses and mansions being presented. Does this work in the same way that it does with a car?*
Button navigates to signup pageButton navigates to signup page
(2 votes)
Answer
- David Alexander
  Posted 8 months ago. Direct link to David Alexander's post “Public Radio is big on th...”
  Public Radio is big on the "donate your car or boat" thing. You give them the car, they give you a receipt for the donation. You use that receipt when you file your taxes and the value of the car is deducted from your gross income, so you don't pay tax on that value.
  Button navigates to signup page
  (2 votes)
Rod Redline
Posted 6 months ago. Direct link to Rod Redline's post “What are tax write-offs, ...”
What are tax write-offs, and how do they work? How do you make them effective?
Button navigates to signup pageComment on Rod Redline's post “What are tax write-offs, ...”
(3 votes)
Answer
- David Alexander
  Posted 6 months ago. Direct link to David Alexander's post “If you're giving to get a...”
  If you're giving to get a tax writeoff, you're not giving, you're just gaming the system.
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  (0 votes)
AvaU
Posted 3 months ago. Direct link to AvaU's post “what is a tax right off”
what is a tax right off
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(1 vote)
Answer
- David Alexander
  Posted 3 months ago. Direct link to David Alexander's post “A "tax write off" general...”
  A "tax write off" generally means that the money in question, has been given to a charity or has been lost in a bad business deal, so you don't pay tax on that portion of your income. It doesn't save you anything, because the money is gone anyway.
  Comment on David Alexander's post “A "tax write off" general...”
  (1 vote)

Video transcript

- So let's talk a little bit about charitable giving. And this one is close to my heart because I run a nonprofit. So why do folks donate to charity? Well, you might have your own motivations. For most folks, I think it just feels good. They might feel that they have certain privileges in life that other folks don't have or they might want to see a disease cured. Help educate folks, help the world in some way. And if you haven't tried it, I encourage you to when you donate money or you donate some of your time services or you donate goods to a charity and you feel like, hey, I'm making the world a little bit better, it feels really good. Now, some people might be a little cynical and say, oh well they get a tax write off whenever they donate money, et cetera. But I wanna be very clear, 'cause I've heard that a lot. Whenever someone has seen someone else donate, oh, well they're just getting a tax write off. In the vast majority of cases you do not get more money back than you donate. In most, most cases, if you say donate a hundred dollars that's just going to reduce your income by a hundred dollars. And let's say your marginal tax rate is 30% to make the math easy, that means it'll reduce your taxes by 30% of that a hundred dollars. So if you donate a hundred dollars to a not-for-profit to a charity, you will get $30 back in that situation on your taxes but you still donated a net $70. So when folks are donating, don't be cynical about it. They're definitely giving more than they're receiving. There's some special cases, maybe you have a car that you couldn't sell for more than a few hundred dollars. And if you donate to a charity you might be able to have a slightly larger write off than that. But in the great majority of cases folks are giving more than they're receiving. And what they're really receiving is that feeling that they're doing good for the world.