Tax filing in 2014: 7 new rules and 9 wacky deductions

Tax filing season is here, so it's time to ensure you're ready to get the most out of your filing. Read on for new rules for 2014, plus several surprising deductions.

11. Deduction: deer donation

Rebecca Swiller/CSM/File
Close to the Overlook Mountain hiking trail in Woodstock, N.Y., a deer makes a quick scamper for the cover of trees, shrubs, and grasses. Donating a deer to charity could get you a tax deduction in South Carolina.

South Carolina may be the only place where “meat processing plants” and “charity donations” occupy the same tax form. Any meat packer, butcher, or processing plant in the state can get a $50 rebate by donating a processed deer carcass to a charity, which will use it to feed the hungry.

None of the meat may have been used previously for commercial purposes, and meat providers must “skin, cut, bone, grind, package, or perform any butchering tasks necessary to prepare the meat for distribution and consumption” before it can be donated. This deduction is only available to professional meat processors. 

So if you’re in the venison business, want to do a good deed, and get a break on your taxes, it looks like South Carolina is your state.

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