body: This is a tax law question.
  
  
  I portray Mark Twain in a one-man performance I conceived, wrote (predominantly based on Twain's words, of course), and "direct."
  
  
  I would be willing to appear at times to raise money for "charity," IOW without charging for my performance. Is it legal (according to the IRS) to count these gratis performances as "contributions" that I could thus subtract from my income so as to reduce my tax burden?
  
  
  If so, what do I need from these organizations for which I provide a free performance? Would it be a document that says, in effect, "Clay Shannon donated $\_\_\_ to us by providing his performance free of charge" (where the monetary amount is the amount of their ticket sales) or what?
  
  
  A side question is, can I require these organizations to pay my expenses (travel, lodging, meal[s]) so that I need pay nothing out of pocket to provide the performance, or would these costs have to be borne by me and only be deductible as a further charitable contribution?
  
  
  
title: Are Performances provided for charity a valid tax deduction?