Tax day is quickly approaching, so here are five (5) possible wedding planning write-offs that newlyweds may find very beneficial. Before you include any of these recommendations on your tax forms, please run this by your tax accountant first.
1. Your Wedding Venue. If you are planning to get married at a historic home, a public museum, public library, or a state or national or park, you may find that your rental fee (or a portion of it) is a tax deduction. Many museums and historic homes are owned by foundations or non-profit organizations, so the rental fees benefit the upkeep of the museum and are often considered a donation (aka a tax deduction). Check with the venue before you sign on the dotted line.
2. Your Wedding Gown. If you are open to donating your wedding gown after your special day, you should know that you can get a tax write-off if you consider donating it to Goodwill or Salvation Army. A charity, such as Brides Against Breast Cancer welcomes the donations of contemporary gown styles, slips and veils dating from the year 2000 until now. You will be happy to know that each gown that arrives at most of these organizations is carefully prepared for sale to brides on very limited budgets. And, once again, your wedding gown donation is tax deductible. Just remember that you can’t write off the full price of your gown —you will only be able to deduct the fair market value.
3. Your Wedding Favors — Instead of giving favors to your wedding guests, consider making a donation in their name to your favorite charity. If you want to make a donation to a cause and give a traditional chocolate favor at the same time, consider a favor, such as Truffles for a Cause.
4. Bridal Party Gifts — If your bridesmaids are like me, they have more stuff than they know what to do with. There is a web site called, Changing the Present. This web site connects you with more than 1,500 meaningful gifts that are created to help improve the world that we live in. In addition to setting up a wedding registry, you can give wedding favors that help reduce your carbon footprint.
5. Your Wedding Flowers. If you intend to showcase numerous beautiful arrangements at your wedding, consider donating them to a local nursing home afterwards. The nursing home can use the flowers to decorate their front desk, the community room, the lunch room and even some of the residents’ rooms. Since many nursing homes are non-profit organizations, this thoughtful act may be a tax deduction. To be sure of their tax status, I recommend that you check with the nursing home in advance.
Happy Tax Day!
Love & Soul Always, Kawania