Charitable

Contributions

Tax Exempt and Government Entities

EXEMPT ORGANIZATIONS

Substantiation and

Disclosure Requirements
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Charitable Contributions – Substantiation and Disclosure Requirements

Table of Contents

Recordkeeping Rules ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 2

Monetary Contribution Requirement ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 2

Payroll Deductions ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 2

Noncash Contributions ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 2

Contemporaneous Written Acknowledgment ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 3

Requirement ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 3

Contemporaneous ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 3

Goods and Services ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 4

Services and Unreimbursed Expenses ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 6

Examples of Contemporaneous Written Acknowledgments ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 6

Written Disclosure Statement ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 7

Requirement ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 7

Exception �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 7

Penalty ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 7

Further Information ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 8
 1

Charitable Contributions – Substantiation and Disclosure Requirements

Charitable Contributions – Substantiation and Disclosure Requirements, Publication 1771, provides 

a general explanation of the federal income tax law for organizations, such as charities and churches, that 

receive federal income tax-deductible charitable contributions and for donors who make contributions. 

The IRS imposes recordkeeping and substantiation rules on donors making charitable contributions and 

disclosure rules on charitable organizations that receive certain quid pro quo contributions from donors.

• Donors must have a record of the contribution or a timely written communication for any 

monetary contribution before donors can claim a charitable deduction on their federal income tax 

returns.

• Donors are responsible for obtaining a contemporaneous written acknowledgment from a charitable 

organization for any single monetary contribution or noncash contribution valued at $250 or more 

before donors can claim a charitable deduction on their federal income tax returns.

• Charitable organizations are required to provide a written disclosure statement in quid pro quo

charitable contributions where donors receive goods or services in exchange for a single payment in 

excess of $75.

For more detailed information on charitable contributions, see Charitable Contributions, Publication 526. 

For assistance on valuing property donated to charitable organizations, see Determining the Value of 

Donated Property, Publication 561. The rules in this publication do not apply to a donated motor vehicle, 

boat, or airplane if the claimed value exceeds $500. For information on vehicle donations, see A Charity’s 

Guide to Vehicle Donation, Publication 4302, and A Donor’s Guide to Vehicle Donation, Publication 

4303. This publication does not address conservation easement donations. For information on qualified 

conservation contributions, see Publication 526, Publication 561, and the instructions to Form 8283, 

Noncash Charitable Contributions.

Are you an organization that receives contributions of $250 or more?

– or –

Are you an organization that provides goods or services to donors who make 

contributions of more than $75?

– or –

Are you a donor who makes contributions to a charity?
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Charitable Contributions – Substantiation and Disclosure Requirements

Recordkeeping Rules

Monetary Contribution Requirement

A donor cannot claim a federal income tax deduction for any monetary contribution unless the donor 

maintains a record of the contribution or a timely written communication from the charitable organization showing the name of the organization, the date of the contribution, and the amount of the contribution.

A monetary contribution includes cash, check, a transfer of a gift card redeemable for cash, and a 

payment made by credit card, electronic fund transfer, an online payment service, or payroll deduction.

A record of the contribution includes a bank record, a statement from a financial institution, an electronic 

fund transfer receipt, a canceled check, a scanned image of both sides of a canceled check obtained 

from a bank website, or a credit card statement. 

A written communication includes a receipt, a letter, and an email.

A timely written communication from the charitable organization is one that the donor receives from 

the organization on or before the earlier of the date the donor files the donor’s original federal income tax 

return for the taxable year in which the contribution was made or the due date, including extensions, for 

filing the donor’s original return for that year. 

The date of the contribution is the date the donor gave the charitable organization the contribution.

Payroll Deductions

For monetary contributions made by payroll deduction, the donor may use a pledge card prepared by or 

at the direction of the charitable organization, along with one of the following documents:

• a pay stub,

• Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, or

• other employer-furnished document that shows the amount withheld and paid to the charitable 

organization.

The donor must have these documents on or before the earlier of the date the donor files the donor’s 

original federal income tax return for the taxable year in which the contribution was made or the due date, 

including extensions, for filing the donor’s original return for that year. 

If a donor makes a single monetary contribution of $250 or more by payroll deduction, the pledge 

card or other document from the charitable organization must also include a statement to the effect that 

the organization did not provide goods or services in exchange for any contributions made to the organization by payroll deduction if that was the case.

Each payroll deduction amount of $250 or more is treated as a separate contribution for purposes of the 

$250 threshold requirement for contemporaneous written acknowledgments.

Noncash Contributions

Noncash contributions are contributions of property that do not meet the definition of monetary contributions, above. Just as is the case for monetary contributions, donors are responsible for obtaining a 

contemporaneous written acknowledgment from a charitable organization for any single noncash contribution valued at $250 or more before donors can claim a charitable deduction on their federal income tax 

returns. Additional substantiation requirements may apply to noncash contributions. These requirements 

can be complicated. They depend on the type of property contributed and the claimed value of the property 

contributed. See Form 8283 and its instructions as well as Publication 526 for additional information.
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Charitable Contributions – Substantiation and Disclosure Requirements

Contemporaneous Written Acknowledgment

Requirement

A donor cannot claim a federal income tax deduction for any single contribution valued at $250 or more 

unless the donor obtains a contemporaneous written acknowledgment of the contribution from the 

donee charitable organization. An organization that does not acknowledge a contribution incurs no 

penalty; but, without a contemporaneous written acknowledgment, the donor cannot claim the federal 

income tax deduction. Although it’s a donor’s responsibility to obtain a contemporaneous written 

acknowledgment, a charitable organization must assist a donor by providing a contemporaneous 

written statement containing:

1. the name of the organization

2. the amount of any monetary contribution

3. a description (but not the fair market value) of any contribution of property

4. a statement that no goods or services were provided by the organization in return for the contribution, 

if that was the case

5. If the organization did provide goods or services in return for the contribution, a description and good 

faith estimate of the fair market value of the goods or services

6. If the organization only provided intangible religious benefits (described later in this publication) in return 

for the contribution, a statement so providing.

It isn’t necessary to include either the donor’s Social Security number or tax identification number on the 

contemporaneous written acknowledgment. 

A separate contemporaneous written acknowledgment may be provided for each single contribution valued at $250 or more, or one contemporaneous written acknowledgment, such as an annual 

summary, may be used to substantiate several single contributions valued at $250 or more. There are no 

IRS forms for the contemporaneous written acknowledgment. However, samples of such acknowledgments are provided below. 

Letters, postcards, or computer-generated forms with the above information are acceptable. A charitable 

organization can provide either a paper copy of the contemporaneous written acknowledgment to the 

donor, or an organization can provide the acknowledgment electronically, such as via an email addressed 

to the donor. A donor shouldn’t attach the acknowledgment to his or her individual federal income tax 

return, but must retain it to substantiate the contribution. Separate contributions of less than $250 will not 

be aggregated. An example of this could be weekly offerings to a donor’s church of less than $250 even 

though the donor’s annual total contributions are $250 or more.

Contemporaneous

For the contemporaneous written acknowledgment to be considered contemporaneous, a donor 

must receive the acknowledgment on or before the earlier of:

• the date on which the donor files the donor’s individual federal income tax return for the year of the 

contribution; or

• the due date (including extensions) of such return.

Charities typically send written acknowledgments to donors no later than January 31 of the year following 

the donation. 
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Charitable Contributions – Substantiation and Disclosure Requirements

Goods and Services

A contemporaneous written acknowledgment must describe and include a good faith estimate of the 

fair market value of any goods or services a charitable organization gives to the donor in exchange for 

the donor’s contribution that is valued at $250 or more. Generally, a donor’s deduction for a contribution 

to an organization is limited to the fair market value of the contribution minus the fair market value of the 

goods and services the donor receives from the organization in exchange for the contribution. 

Goods or services include cash, property, services, benefits, or privileges. However, there are important 

exceptions:

Token Exception – Goods or services that have insubstantial value that a charitable organization provides 

in exchange for contributions do not have to be described in the contemporaneous written acknowledgment.

Good and services are considered to be of insubstantial value if the payment the donor makes occurs in 

the context of a fundraising campaign, the charitable organization informs the donor as to the amount of 

the payment that is a deductible contribution, and:

1. the fair market value of the goods and services the donor receives does not exceed the lesser of 2 

percent of the donor’s payment or $125,* or

2. donor’s payment is at least $62.50,* the only goods or services the charitable organization provides 

bear the organization’s name or logo (for example, calendars, mugs, or posters), and the cost of these 

items, in the aggregate, is within the limit for “low-cost articles,” which is $12.50.*

Low-cost articles a charitable organization sends for free to taxpayers who have not ordered these articles 

are also considered to be of insubstantial value; examples include mailing labels or greeting cards. 

*The dollar amounts are for 2023. Guideline amounts are adjusted for inflation. See IRS.gov for annual inflation adjustment information.

Example of a Token Exception: If a charitable organization gives a coffee 

mug bearing its logo that costs the organization $12.50 or less to a donor 

who contributes $62.50 or more, the organization may state that no goods or 

services were provided in return for the contribution. The contribution is fully 

deductible.

Membership Benefits Exception – An annual membership benefit is also considered to be insubstantial 

if it is provided in exchange for an annual payment of $75 or less and consists of annual recurring rights or 

privileges, such as:

1. free or discounted admissions to the charitable organization’s facilities or events

2. discounts on purchases from the organization’s gift shop

3. free or discounted parking

4. free or discounted admission to member-only events sponsored by the organization, where a perperson cost (not including overhead) is within the “low-cost articles” limits
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Charitable Contributions – Substantiation and Disclosure Requirements

Intangible Religious Benefits Exception – If a religious charitable organization provides only “intangible 

religious benefits” to a donor, the contemporaneous written acknowledgment does not need to describe 

or value those benefits. It can simply state that the organization provided intangible religious benefits to 

the donor.

What are “intangible religious benefits”? Generally, they are benefits provided by a charitable organization 

organized exclusively for religious purposes, and are not usually sold in commercial transactions outside 

a donative (gift) context. Examples include admission to a religious ceremony and a de minimis tangible 

benefit, such as wine used in a religious ceremony. Benefits that are not intangible religious benefits 

include education leading to a recognized degree, travel services, and consumer goods.

Example of a Membership Benefits Exception: If a charitable organization 

offers a $75 annual membership that allows free admission to all of its weekly 

events, plus a $20 poster, the contemporaneous written acknowledgment need 

only mention the $20 value of the poster, since the free admission would be 

considered insubstantial and, therefore, would be disregarded.
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Charitable Contributions – Substantiation and Disclosure Requirements

Examples of Contemporaneous Written Acknowledgments

• “Thank you for your cash contribution of $300 that (organization’s name) received on December 12, 

2015. No goods or services were provided in exchange for your contribution.”

• “Thank you for your cash contribution of $350 that (organization’s name) received on May 6, 2015. In 

exchange for your contribution, we gave you a cookbook with an estimated fair market value of $60.”

• “Thank you for your contribution of a used oak baby crib and matching dresser that (organization’s 

name) received on March 15, 2015. No goods or services were provided in exchange for your 

contribution.”

The following is an example of a contemporaneous written acknowledgment when a charitable organization accepts contributions in the name of one of its activities:

• “Thank you for your contribution of $450 to (organization’s name) made in the name of its Special 

Relief Fund program. No goods or services were provided in exchange for your contribution.”

Example of an Unreimbursed Expense: A chosen representative to an annual 

convention of a charitable organization purchases an airline ticket to travel to 

the convention. The organization doesn’t reimburse the delegate for the $500 

ticket. The representative should keep a record of the expenditure, such as a 

copy of the ticket. The representative should obtain from the organization a 

description of the services that the representative provided and a statement as 

to whether the representative received goods or services in accordance with the 

requirements set forth above.

Services and Unreimbursed Expenses

Generally, donors cannot deduct the value of services donors give to a charitable organization. Under 

some narrow circumstances, however, donors may be able to deduct unreimbursed expenses associated 

with the services donors give to a charitable organization. See Publication 526 for a description of these 

circumstances and the substantiation requirements. 

If a donor makes a single contribution valued at $250 or more in the form of unreimbursed expenses, then 

the donor must obtain a contemporaneous written acknowledgment from the charitable organization 

containing a:

• description of the services provided by the donor

• statement of whether the charitable organization provided goods or services in return for the 

unreimbursed expenses

• description and good faith estimate of the fair market value of goods or services, if any, that the 

organization provided in return for the unreimbursed expenses

• statement that goods or services, if any, that the organization provided in return for the unreimbursed 

expenses consisted entirely of intangible religious benefits (described earlier in this publication), if 

that was the case
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Charitable Contributions – Substantiation and Disclosure Requirements

Written Disclosure Statement

Requirement

Donors may only take a contribution deduction to the extent that their contributions exceed the fair 

market value of the goods or services the donors receive in return for the contributions; therefore, donors 

need to know the value of the goods or services. An organization must provide a written disclosure statement to a donor who makes a payment exceeding $75 partly as a contribution and partly for goods and 

services provided by the organization. A contribution made by a donor in exchange for goods or services 

is known as a quid pro quo contribution.

Example of a Quid Pro Quo Contribution: A donor gives a charitable organization $100 in exchange for a concert ticket with a fair market value of $40. In this 

example, the donor’s tax deduction may not exceed $60. Because the donor’s 

payment (quid pro quo contribution) exceeds $75, the charitable organization 

must furnish a disclosure statement to the donor, even though the deductible 

amount doesn’t exceed $75.

A required written disclosure statement must:

• inform the donor that the amount of the contribution that is deductible for federal income tax purposes 

is limited to the excess of money (and the fair market value of property other than money) contributed 

by the donor over the value of goods or services provided by the organization

• provide the donor with a good faith estimate of the fair market value of the goods or services

An organization must furnish a disclosure statement in connection with either the solicitation or the receipt 

of the quid pro quo contribution. The statement must be in writing and must be made in a manner that 

is likely to come to the attention of the donor. For example, a disclosure in small print within a larger 

document might not meet this requirement.

Exception

A written disclosure statement is not required:

• where the goods or services given to the donor meet the “token exception,” the “membership benefits 

exception” or the “intangible religious benefits exception” described earlier

• where there is no donative element involved in a particular transaction, such as in a typical museum 

gift shop sale

Penalty

A penalty is imposed on charities that do not meet the written disclosure requirement. The penalty is $10 

per contribution, not to exceed $5,000 per fundraising event or mailing. An organization may avoid the 

penalty if it can show that failure to meet the requirements was due to reasonable cause.
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Charitable Contributions – Substantiation and Disclosure Requirements

Further Information

recordkeeping rules – Recordkeeping rules for monetary contributions are contained in Section 170(f)(17) 

of the Internal Revenue Code and Section 1.170A-15 of the Income Tax Regulations.

contemporaneous written acknowledgment – Detailed rules for contemporaneous written acknowledgments are contained in Section 170(f)(8) of the Internal Revenue Code and Section 1.170A-13(f) of the 

Income Tax Regulations. The “low-cost article” rules are in Code Section 513(h)(2).

written disclosure statement – Detailed rules for written disclosure statements are contained in Section 

6115 of the Internal Revenue Code and Section 1.6115-1 of the Income Tax Regulations. The penalty 

rules are contained in Section 6714 of the Internal Revenue Code.

IRS publications – Order publications by calling the IRS at (800) 829-3676. Download IRS publications at 

www.irs.gov.

IRS customer service – Telephone assistance for general tax information is available by calling IRS 

customer service toll-free at (800) 829-1040.

EO customer service – Telephone assistance specific to exempt organizations is available by calling IRS 

Exempt Organizations customer account services toll-free at (877) 829-5500.

EO website – Visit Exempt Organizations website at irs.gov/eo.

EO Update – Subscribe to IRS Exempt Organizations’ EO Update, a regular email newsletter with information for tax-exempt organizations and tax practitioners who represent them.

StayExempt – An IRS interactive web-based training program covering tax compliance issues confronted 

by small and mid-sized tax-exempt organizations.
Publication 1771 (Rev. 11-2023) Catalog Number 20054Q Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service www.irs.gov