Send your donors than-you notes. They’ll thank you come tax season.

By Kathleen Stephenson and Lisa Petkun

The IRS ruled that the substantiation rules applied to each transfer of $250 or more by the company to a charity on behalf of the cardholder. The same rules would apply to transfers of $250 or more to a charitable organization by a credit card company on behalf of an affiliated credit cardholder.

The key distinction here is not what is set aside for charity each time the affiliated credit card is used, but the payment amount that actually is made to the organization on behalf of the donor cardholder.