Scott wrote:

- quote -

I find the reverse question more interesting....

Suppose you reverse the time zones. In that case, the
charity reports the donation as being in 2003, but
you actually made it in 2004.

For what it's worth, I agree with the analysis in
the other two replies -- you claim the donation
for the year YOU make the donation, regardless of
when the charity receives it. Time travel
notwithstanding, that can be in the same year,
previous year, or next year. (If it's more than
one year later, there could be a problem.)

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"Scott" <scott[at]scott.com> wrote:

- quote -

Would the situation be any different if you had made the
donation by mail? As long as it was postmarked by midnight
(in your time zone) on Dec 31, it would count as a 2003
donation - not when the charity received the check. I would
go with the time stamp printed on your online receipt.

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Scott wrote:

- quote -

I would go with 2003, because that was the local time (year)
where you were located when you initiated the transaction.

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Can't seem to find an answer to this one, so I'm hoping
someone here can help.

I am in the Central Time Zone. On 12/31 at 11:30pm Central
time, I made an online donation to a charity that is in the
Eastern Time Zone. So, the charity's records will reflect
that my donation was made at 12:30am on 1/1/04. When I
printed my online receipt, my computer stamped it with the
12/31 date, but I did receive an automated email from the
charity thanking me for my 2004 donation.

You see where I'm headed with this ... is this deductible in
2003 or does it go onto 2004?

Thanks!

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