As year end approaches, you may be thinking about making some charitable donations. Here's a rundown of the potential tax breaks for your generosity. Itemized Deductions You can claim write-offs for contributions of cash and other items donated to charitable organizations, such as United Way and Goodwill. What you might not realize is that not all contributions to charities qualify for tax breaks. First, you receive tax savings from charitable donations only if you itemize deductions on your personal tax return. For 2017, the standard deduction amounts are:

The IRS is warning about possible fake charity scams that are emerging due to recent hurricanes. Taxpayers who want to help should seek out recognized charitable groups to make donations. “While there has been an enormous wave of support across the country for the victims of Hurricane Harvey, people should be aware of criminals who look to take advantage of this generosity by impersonating charities to get money or private information from well-meaning taxpayers,” the IRS stated. Such fraudulent schemes may involve in-person solicitations or contact by telephone, social media and e-mail. Criminals often send “phishing” e-mail messages that steer recipients to bogus websites that appear to be affiliated with legitimate charitable causes. These sites frequently try to imitate the websites of — or use names similar to — genuine charities. They sometimes claim to be affiliated with legitimate charities in order to persuade people to send money or provide personal financial information that can be used to steal identities or financial resources.

Although nowhere in the United States is safe from Mother Nature, there is a silver tax lining: If your personal-use property is struck by a natural disaster, damaged by another calamity or stolen, you may be able to obtain some relief by claiming a casualty or theft loss as an itemized deduction on your individual tax return. As with most tax breaks, however, there are important rules and limits you need to be aware of. The Basics To qualify for a casualty loss deduction, the damage or destruction must result from a “sudden, unexpected or unusual” event. Typically, this includes damage or destruction caused by natural disasters, such as hurricanes, tornadoes, fires, earthquakes or volcanic eruptions. But casualty losses may also result from such events as automobile collisions or water pipes bursting during a severe cold snap.