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§ 21.1 SUBSTANTIATION AND OTHER RECEIPT REQUIREMENTSthat operates a performing arts center. 55 In return for a payment of $75, the centeroffers a package of basic membership benefits, which includes the right to purchasetickets to performances one week before they go on sale to the general public;free parking in its garage during evening and weekend performances; and a 10percent discount on merchandise sold in its gift shop. In exchange for a $150 payment,the center offers a package of preferred membership benefits, whichincludes all of the benefits in the $75 package as well as a poster that is sold in thecenter’s gift shop for $20. The basic membership and the preferred membershipare each valid for 12 months and there are approximately 50 performances of variousproductions at the center during a 12-month period. The gift shop is open forseveral hours each week and at performance times. An individual is solicited bythe center to make a contribution, being offered the preferred membership option.This individual makes a payment of $300. This individual can satisfy the substantiationrequirement by obtaining a contemporaneous written acknowledgment fromthe center that includes a description of the poster and a good faith estimate of itsfair market value ($20), and disregards the remaining membership benefits.Another example 56 concerned a charitable organization that operates a communitytheater organization that performs four plays every summer; each is performedtwice. In return for a membership fee of $60, the organization offers itsmembers free admission to any of its performances. Nonmembers may purchasetickets on a performance-by-performance basis for $15 a ticket. An individual,being solicited by the organization to make a contribution, is advised that themembership benefit will be provided for a payment of $60 or more. This individualchooses to make a payment of $350 to the organization and receives inexchange the membership benefit. This membership benefit does not qualify forthe exclusion because it is not a privilege that can be exercised frequently (due tothe limited number of performances offered). Therefore, to meet the substantiationrequirements, a contemporaneous written acknowledgment of the $350payment would have to include a description of the free admission benefit and agood faith estimate of its value. (The example does not continue to state that thatvalue is $60 and the charitable deduction thus is $290.)If a person makes a contribution of $250 or more to a charitable organizationand, in return, the charity offers the person’s employees goods or services (other thanthose that may be disregarded), the contemporaneous written acknowledgment ofthe person’s contribution does not have to include a good faith estimate of the valueof the goods or services, but must include a description of those goods or services. 57An individual who incurred unreimbursed expenditures incident to the renditionof services is treated as having obtained a contemporaneous writtenacknowledgment of the expenditures if the individual:• has adequate records to substantiate the amount of the expenditures, and• timely obtains a statement prepared by the donee charity containing (1) adescription of the services provided; (2) a statement as to whether the55 Reg. § 1.170A-13(f)(8)(ii), Example 1.56 Id., Example 3.57 Reg. § 1.170A-13(f)(9)(ii). 591