The federal government certainly wants you to help out an individual in need, even if that means making a donation of cash or property to that person. Unfortunately, your good deed doesn't entitle you to claim a charitable deduction. To take the deduction, the IRS requires that you make the donation to a qualified charitable organization, none of which include a person.
IRS-Qualified Organizations
No matter how desperate the circumstances, a person can never be a qualified organization eligible to receive tax deductible donations. Only nonprofit organizations that have tax-exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service are eligible to receive the types of donations you can deduct. This includes organizations that operate to promote charitable, educational, literary, scientific and humanitarian causes. A qualified organization also includes most religious organizations such as churches, synagogues and mosques even though they don't receive formal tax-exempt status from the IRS.
Directing Use of a Donation
You cannot make a donation to a qualified charity and require it to forward the donation to another person. The IRS will not allow you to claim a deduction for any donation you make that has "strings attached" to it, such as requiring the funds or property be used for the benefit of a specific person. To deduct any cash or property donation, it must be for the general use of the organization. However, this doesn't mean that the person who you want to benefit from your donation cannot access the services of the charity.
Amount of Deduction
The amount of your charity deduction is generally equal to the amount of cash you contribute, or the fair market value of the property. When you make a property donation, the IRS requires you to assess its fair market value as of the date you make the donation. It is up to you to choose a valuation method, but your deduction must always reflect the price a buyer is willing to pay for it. For example, if you donate used clothing, you can use the price that local thrift stores charge for similar articles. However, if you donate a car, the IRS sometimes requires you to use the smaller of the car's value or the price the charity sells it for.
Tax Return Reporting
As long as you don't include donations you make to people, you can list the total value of your charitable donations on the Schedule A attachment to your tax return. Since you must be eligible to itemize your deductions to claim a charity donation deduction, you will not receive any additional tax savings if you choose the standard deduction instead. Furthermore, the IRS limits your total deduction in a single year to an amount that doesn't exceed 50 percent of your adjusted gross income. If it does, you can use the excess as a deduction over the next five years.
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