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§ 6.2 GIFTS OF MONEY BY CHECK§ 6.1 GIFTS OF MONEY IN GENERALA charitable contribution of U.S. currency is deductible for the year in which themoney is mailed or otherwise delivered to the charitable donee. This rule pertainsto situations in which the gift is made in cash, rather than by check. Ofcourse, the title to the money passes at the time the ownership of the currencychanges hands. Actions indicating intent to make a gift of money, such asinstructions to a bookkeeper, are insufficient; the deduction arises in the year ofactual payment. 12§ 6.2 GIFTS OF MONEY BY CHECKGifts of money are usually made by means of a check, if only as a matter ofrecordkeeping. In this context, the general rules cited above apply. That is, titleto the funds passes, and thus a charitable gift is made, at the time the check ismailed or otherwise delivered to the charitable donee. 13 This rule also applieswhen the gift is made using a third-party check. In addition to these assumptions,however, this rule assumes that the check evidencing the contributionclears the bank involved in due course. 14 Thus, a “gift” of a bad check is no giftat all.Therefore, charitable gifts by check made at year end may be deductible forthe year in which the check was written, even though the check evidencing thegift does not clear the account involved until early in the subsequent year. Thisrule is reflected in the relation-back doctrine.The relation-back doctrine is usually not applied in cases involving noncharitablegifts. A court, however, decided a case pertaining to the timing of a noncharitablegift; some aspects of the opinion relate to the timing—for deductibilitypurposes—of the making of charitable gifts. 15The case concerned an individual who died in 1987. He intended to make giftsto his heirs and their spouses during his lifetime. He executed a wide-rangingpower of attorney making his son his attorney-in-fact for a variety of purposes,including the making of gifts. On December 14, 1985, his son drew four checksagainst his father’s savings account, in the amount of $10,000 each, includingone check for himself and one for his wife. These two checks were deposited onDecember 31, 1985; the checks cleared the drawee bank on January 2, 1986. Therewere sufficient funds in the account to allow these checks to clear. In 1986, theson drew another set of checks payable to the same four donees in the sameamounts. These checks were cashed in 1986. When the IRS audited the estate, ittook the position that both sets of gifts were made in 1986. Although it was, ofcourse, the intent of the donor to make gifts qualifying for the annual per-donee12 Nehring v. Commissioner, 131 F.2d 790 (7th Cir. 1942). See also Jordan v. United States, 297 F. Supp. 1326(W.D. Okla. 1969).13 Reg. § 1.170A-1(b). See also Witt Estate v. Fahs, 160 F. Supp. 521 (S.D. Fla. 1956); Spiegel Estate v. Commissioner,12 T.C. 524 (1949).14 The IRS wrote that a charitable contribution in the form of a check is deductible in the tax year in which thecheck was delivered, “provided the check is honored and paid and there are no restrictions as to time and mannerof payment thereof.” Rev. Rul. 54-465, 1954-2 C.B. 93.15 Metzger Estate v. Commissioner, 100 T.C. 204 (1993), aff’d, 94-2 U.S.T.C. 60,179 (4th Cir. 1994). 173