Wedding Expenses (taxes)

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Lmao, you cannot. I’m pretty sure that American tax law is not much different from Canadian in this case and I know for certain up here you cannot claim wedding expenses because I work for an accountant who does taxes every spring.

@Kristin-that’s true, I know up here though charitable donations don’t make much of a cut into your tax return unless it’s over $10K, and I don’t see many churches requiring a $10K plus donation.

Lol, do you do taxes? I can’t believe some of the “expenses” people try to write off!

Yes, of course you can. Make sure you throw yourself a huge ass party so you can deduct it on your taxes.

... seriously? This is why people budget. Parties aren't tax deductible (just in case you thought I was serious)

It is not even a charitable donation if you are getting something of value for the payment to the venue. If you make a donation in addition to the required fee for the venue, fine. IMHO, a small amount paid to the church may be deductible.

ETA --

1. Any amount over I think 250 you will need documentation from the charity that they did not provide goods or services for the "donation." Now they may split it into a donation and a fee, but good luck with this.

2. Not certain, but I think new tax law limits charitable deduction.

If you are counting on tax deductions to afford the wedding, I would recommend having another look at your budget and cut where you can.

If you own a business and you use your wedding as a networking event for clients, you might be able to deduct a portion of the party as a business expense. You would have to talk shop and document the items discussed with whoever you're talking to. Talk to your CPA.

@Gator-nope. We had a client try and argue that and our accountant shut that shit right down.

LOL no. Weddings are the very definition of personal expenses, and with very few exceptions (like student loan interest and home mortgage interest), personal expenses are non-deductible. Agree with PPs that at most, your venue or church might be willing to split the payment into a donation and a fee, and you can deduct the donation, but it'll only matter if you're otherwise itemizing deductions.

@karen, unless they've changed it, the new tax bill doesn't limit charitable deductions. It does increase the standard deduction, so fewer people will end up itemizing and getting the benefit of the charitable deduction.

Note: I am not a tax professional, and none of this should be considered professional advice. I did, however, just take an exam on tax law five days ago... never thought my new-found tax knowledge would get any play on WW beyond daily chat

There are a number of great articles about this online; I actually blogged about it a few weeks ago.

You can deduct the PORTION of the rental fee if it's a non profit (museum, etc) but only the value of the rental that is above fair market value for the space. You can deduct part of the flowers if you donate them. If you donate the dress, decor, etc after the fact, you can take a deduction for the market value of the items (which is a fraction of what they cost to begin with.....)

There are a couple of other things mentioned in the articles, but you HAVE to talk to an accountant about it. I would never think to take a deduction as a business expense, honestly. Who want to network at their wedding?

From TurboTax: https://blog.turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/6-tax-write-offs-for-your-wedding-5133/

Thanks ladies for the feedback I saw something on turbo tax in regards to donations if food, flowers etc. were donated. Thanks again I will speak to my CPA.

And for all others yes I am on budget and yes I know it’s a huge party and I wouldn’t dare try out run the law - but thanks for some of the rude comments. Have a good day ????

I wouldn't even bother unless you itemize. If you're doing this in 2018, you're going to have to have at least 24k, if you're filing as a couple,of itemized deductions to even take advantage of it. With the new tax bill, only 10% of Americans would even itemize.

No one was rude to you. And our new fabulous tax law is going to make sure that most of us are way screwed.

Thanks again ladies I will check into it and share what was discovered.