So McD’s asks you, when you pay, to round up the cost of your order for charity. My question is this: I’m giving the money to McD’s, not the charity. Am I then helping them get a bigger tax deduction for corporate giving? So my 18 cents they match means they get credit for a 36 cent charitable gift?
In: Economics
[https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxvox/who-gets-tax-benefit-those-checkout-donations-0](https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxvox/who-gets-tax-benefit-those-checkout-donations-0)
tl;dr: No, retail outlets cannot get a tax deduction for “pass-through” donations such as this. However, the downside is that it often means the donor doesn’t take advantage of the tax deduction either.
(Of course, with the standard deduction so high, many people simply cannot take advantage of any tax deductions for charitable giving, so that’s really kind of moot. So, if you want to support the charity the fast food place has partnered with, go ahead and donate.)
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