Blog · 14 October 2026

Charitable Contribution Substantiation After Williams: Form 8283, CWAs and What US CPA Firms Should Tell Clients

By Keshav Bansal, CA

Charitable contribution substantiation is unforgiving when Form 8283 and the contemporaneous written acknowledgment (CWA) are missing—even when the gifts really happened. In Williams v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2026-91 (September 23, 2026; Judge Marshall), as analyzed by Ed Zollars in Current Federal Tax Developments (September 23, 2026), the Tax Court denied a $27,787 noncash Goodwill deduction and a large Hurricane Michael casualty loss after petitioners relied on memory and testimony instead of the paperwork §170 and §165 require. For US CPA firms, Williams is a clean briefing on CWA rules, Form 8283 thresholds, clothing and household-item condition, and why gifts to individuals never qualify under §170(c).

What Williams involved

Petitioners Brenton E. Williams and Octavia P. Williams filed jointly for 2018 and 2019. Octavia was an active-duty United States Air Force member stationed at Tyndall Air Force Base near Panama City, Florida. On October 10, 2018, Hurricane Michael, a Category 5 storm, made landfall and, as the court noted, virtually leveled Tyndall. The couple evacuated to Debary, Florida. About ten days later they returned with a FEMA inspector and a USAA adjuster. USAA later paid, among other coverages, $34,500 under personal property coverage (a $35,000 policy limit less a $500 deductible).

On the 2018 return they claimed a gross personal casualty loss of $182,037 and a net Schedule A deduction of $162,075 after the $100 floor and 10% of AGI. That figure rested on memory, not appraisals or an itemized inventory. On the 2019 Form 8283 they claimed $27,787 of noncash charitable contributions from three Goodwill donations on March 25, July 5 and August 21, 2019: Electronics/Computer Equip. at FMV $8,500; High End Clothing at $7,600; and Furniture/Equip. at $11,687. There was no qualified appraisal, no itemized list and no CWA. The IRS Notice of Deficiency dated February 11, 2022 proposed deficiencies of $27,488 for 2018 and $6,764 for 2019, plus §6662(a) accuracy-related penalties of $5,498 and $1,353.

Charitable contribution substantiation: what the court required

IRC §170(a)(1) allows a deduction only for contributions that meet the statute. For gifts of $250 or more, §170(f)(8) and the related regulations require a contemporaneous written acknowledgment from the donee that states the amount of cash or a description of the property, whether the donee provided any goods or services, and a good-faith estimate of the value of any goods or services provided. For noncash property, Form 8283 is required when the deduction for each contribution (or group of similar items) exceeds $500. Per the IRS Instructions for Form 8283 (revised December 2025), Section A covers more than $500 but not more than $5,000 per item or group of similar items; Section B, with a qualified appraisal by a qualified appraiser, applies when the claimed deduction exceeds $5,000. Clothing and household items generally must be in “good used condition or better” under §170(f)(16); a single item not in that condition with a claimed value over $500 needs a qualified appraisal and Section B.

Judge Marshall found Octavia’s testimony credible that donations occurred after the storm—but credibility does not replace statutory paperwork. Without CWAs, an itemized description and qualified appraisals for the amounts over $5,000, the $27,787 Goodwill deduction failed. Direct gifts to needy individuals after the hurricane also failed: they are not contributions to a §170(c) organization. That rule is separate from a qualified charitable distribution (QCD), which is an IRA-to-charity exclusion under §408(d)(8), not a Schedule A noncash gift.

Casualty loss, reservist travel and §6662

The casualty loss failed for the same reason firms see every disaster season: replacement cost is not pre-casualty fair market value, and compensated losses are not deductible. The court could not find that petitioners substantiated the $182,037 figure; USAA had already paid policy-limit personal property amounts, and replacement receipts overlapped with compensated items. Separately, Octavia’s active-duty commute claimed as above-the-line reservist travel under §62(a)(2)(E) was denied because “reserve components” under 10 U.S.C. §10101 do not include active duty, and miscellaneous itemized employee expenses remained suspended under §67(g) for 2018–2025. The court sustained the §6662(a) penalties after the IRS showed written supervisory approval under §6751(b). For how accuracy-related penalties stack on underpayments, see our §6662 guide after Clear Sky. Disaster filing postponements under §7508A are a different toolset; see our IRS disaster relief checklist.

What US CPA firms should tell clients

• Get the CWA before filing. For every gift of $250 or more, keep a §170(f)(8) acknowledgment that meets the three content tests. “We donated” testimony will not save the deduction.
• Use Form 8283 at the right threshold. Noncash over $500 → Section A; over $5,000 per item or similar group → qualified appraisal and Section B. Incomplete forms can kill the deduction.
• Value used clothing and household goods carefully. Thrifts and consignment prices, not replacement cost, drive FMV—and §170(f)(16) still requires good used condition or better.
• Do not deduct gifts to individuals. Storm neighbors and informal aid may be generous; they are not §170(c) donees.
• Keep casualty files separate from charity files. Appraisals, inventories and insurance settlements belong in the §165 file; CWAs and Form 8283 belong in the §170 file. Mixing them is how Williams-style gaps appear.
• Watch 2026 OBBBA charitable rules on intake. Covered.md’s Williams lesson notes that, from 2026, OBBBA adds a $1,000/$2,000 cash-only deduction for non-itemizers and a 0.5% AGI floor for itemizers—confirm current Code and guidance before advising, and do not treat memory-based noncash schedules as a workaround.

A short firm checklist

• Add organizer questions for CWAs, Form 8283 Section A vs B, and clothing/household condition on every noncash Schedule A claim.
• Flag any single noncash line or similar-item group over $5,000 for a qualified appraisal before the return is filed.
• Reject “gift to needy individuals” lines unless a §170(c) organization is documented.
• For disaster-year clients, demand pre-/post-casualty FMV support and insurance settlement letters before booking a §165 deduction.
• If a Notice of Deficiency arrives, calendar the 90-day petition deadline; see our Lindsey notice-of-deficiency guide.

Where this fits for Tax Brew readers

Charitable and casualty substantiation is document work: acknowledgments, appraisals, Form 8283 and insurance files that have to match the return. If you need extra capacity for tax prep and bookkeeping, see how we support US CPA firms or email info@taxbrewglobal.com.

Check current guidance: this article summarizes Williams v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2026-91, as analyzed by Ed Zollars, CPA, in Current Federal Tax Developments (September 23, 2026), IRC §§170(f)(8), 170(f)(11), 170(f)(16), 165 and 6662, and the IRS Instructions for Form 8283 (revised December 2025) / Pub. 526 framing for noncash contributions. Confirm the Code, Form 8283 instructions and current IRS guidance before advising. This is general information, not tax or legal advice. Sources as of 14 October 2026.