If I, as a business, contribute to helping a friend pay for her child's preschool, can I deduct it from taxes?

Question

I'm a small business owner in Missouri and have a friend who happens to be a single parent. She's finding it difficult to pay for her child's preschool and I'd like to help her out. I intend to help her regardless, but I was curious whether I can somehow claim it as a deduction. If not directly this way, are there any creative ways for her to get assistance with preschool for her child?

Thanks!

Answer 1

I agree, we donated some money once, and even though it was to a charitable organization it was only deductible for us on the personal side of the taxes and only if we itemized deductions.   Do you have employees?  Or does she have skills? Maybe you could hire her to do some work for you either as an employee or an independent contractor and then that would help her financially and be deductible.  But of course she would have to be able to use the money for whatever she wanted.

Answer 2

No, I'm not a CPA--but as I understand it, if you donate toward a preschool to help a specific person, you cannot deduct it--you have to donate to an entity the IRS has said is non-profit, and you can't have strings attached (such as if you gave it to the school on the condition that they educate your friend's child).  Otherwise, we'd all get creative with each other, and the IRS would get zilch.

She can talk to the preschool, and ask if they have any hardship programs.