§ 1.170A-2. Amounts paid to maintain certain students as members of the taxpayer's household.

The X organization is an organization described in section 170(c)(2) and is engaged in a program under which a number of European children are placed in the homes of U.S. residents in order to further the children's high school education. In accordance with paragraph (a) of this section, the taxpayer, A, who reports his income on the calendar year basis, agreed with X to take two of the children, and they were placed in the taxpayer's home on January 2, 1970, where they remained until January 21, 1971, during which time they were fully maintained by the taxpayer. The children enrolled at the local high school for the full course of study prescribed for 10th grade students and attended the school on a full-time basis for the spring semester starting January 18, 1970, and ending June 3, 1970, and for the fall semester starting September 1, 1970, and ending January 13, 1971. The total cost of food paid by A in 1970 for himself, his wife, and the two children amounted to $1,920, or $40 per month for each member of the household. Since the children were actually full-time students for only 8 1/2 months during 1970, the amount paid for food for each child during that period amounted to $340. Other amounts paid during the 8 1/2-month period for each child for laundry, lights, water, recreation, and school supplies amounted to $160. Thus, the amounts treated under section 170(h) and this section as paid for the use of X would, with respect to each child, total $500 ($340 + $160), or a total for both children of $1,000, subject to the limitations of paragraph (b) of this section. Since, for purposes of such limitations, the children were full-time students for only 8 full calendar months during 1970 (less than 15 days in January 1970), the taxpayer may treat only $800 as a charitable contribution made in 1970, that is, $50 multiplied by the 8 full calendar months, or $400 paid for the maintenance of each child. Neither the excess payments nor amounts paid to maintain the children during the period before school opened and for the period in summer between regular school terms is taken into account by reason of section 170(h). Also, because the children were full-time students for less than 15 days in January 1971 (although maintained in the taxpayer's household for 21 days), amounts paid to maintain the children during 1971 would not qualify as a charitable contribution.

A religious organization described in section 170(c)(2) has a program for providing educational opportunities for children it places in private homes. In order to implement the program, the taxpayer, H, who resides with his wife, son, and daughter of high school age in a town in the United States, signs an agreement with the organization to maintain a girl sponsored by the organization as a member of his household while the child attends the local high school for the regular 1970-71 school year. The child is a full-time student at the school during the school year starting September 6, 1970, and ending June 6, 1971, and is a member of the taxpayer's household during that period. Although the taxpayer pays $200 during the school period falling in 1970, and $240 during the school period falling in 1971, to maintain the child, he cannot claim either amount as a charitable contribution because the child's parents, from time to time during the school year, send butter, eggs, meat, and vegetables to H to help defray the expenses of maintaining the child. This is considered property received as reimbursement under paragraph (c) of this section. Had her parents not contributed the food, the fact that the child, in addition to the normal chores she shared with the taxpayer's daughter, such as cleaning their own rooms and helping with the shopping and cooking, was responsible for the family laundry and for the heavy cleaning of the entire house while the taxpayer's daughter had no comparable responsibilities would also preclude a claim for a charitable contributions deduction. These substantial gratuitous services are considered property received as reimbursement under paragraph (c) of this section.

A taxpayer resides with his wife in a city in the eastern United States. He agrees, in writing, with a fraternal society described in section 170(c)(4) to accept a child selected by the society for maintenance by him as a member of his household during 1971 in order that the child may attend the local grammar school as a part of the society's program to provide elementary education for certain children selected by it. The taxpayer maintains the child, who has as his principal place of abode the home of the taxpayer, and is a member of the taxpayer's household, during the entire year 1971. The child is a full-time student at the local grammar school for 9 full calendar months during the year. Under the agreement, the society pays the taxpayer $30 per month to help maintain the child. Since the $30 per month is considered as compensation or reimbursement to the taxpayer for some portion of the maintenance paid on behalf of the child, no amounts paid with respect to such maintenance can be treated as amounts paid in accordance with section 170(h). In the absence of the $30 per month payments, if the child qualifies as a dependent of the taxpayer under section 152(a)(9), that fact would also prevent the maintenance payments from being treated as charitable contributions paid for the use of the fraternal society.