What an IRS written acknowledgment must contain
Updated
This page lists what the IRS says a written acknowledgment must contain, and what a FreeCharityReceipts receipt prints for each item. The list is from Charitable contributions: Written acknowledgments (opens in a new tab) and Publication 1771 (opens in a new tab).
You are still the charity: you enter the details and decide what the donor received. This page is not tax or legal advice. For your own situation, read the IRS pages or ask a professional.
When one is needed
Publication 1771 says a donor can't claim a federal income tax deduction for any single contribution valued at $250 or more unless the donor gets a contemporaneous written acknowledgment from the charity. It also says:
- An organization that doesn't acknowledge a contribution incurs no penalty, but without the acknowledgment the donor can't claim the deduction. Getting it is the donor's responsibility, and the charity must assist by providing the statement.
- Separate gifts of less than $250 aren't added together.
- A charity may give one acknowledgment per gift, or one acknowledgment, such as an annual summary, covering several gifts of $250 or more.
- There are no IRS forms for it. Letters, postcards or computer-generated forms with the required information are acceptable, on paper or by email to the donor. It doesn't need the donor's Social Security or tax identification number.
The acknowledgment is contemporaneous if the donor receives it on or before the earlier of the date the donor files their individual federal income tax return for the year of the gift, or the due date of that return, including extensions. The publication adds that charities typically send them by January 31 of the year after the gift. FreeCharityReceipts doesn't set or check any timing. See Gift date and receipt date.
What it must contain, and what we print
| The IRS says the acknowledgment must contain | On FreeCharityReceipts |
|---|---|
| The name of the organization | You enter Organization Name. It prints at the top of each receipt, with the address and the EIN. |
| The amount of any cash contribution | You enter Gift Amount ($). It prints as Amount: on a cash receipt. A non-cash receipt prints no amount. |
| A description, but not the value, of any non-cash contribution | You enter Description of Item. It prints as Description:. The receipt prints no value for the item. See the note below the table. |
| A statement that no goods or services were provided, if that is the case | Printed at the foot of the receipt if you choose the first IRS Acknowledgment Statement: "No goods or services were provided in exchange for this contribution." |
| If goods or services were provided, a description and a good faith estimate of their value | Option B prints "Goods or services were provided in exchange for this contribution:" the description you enter (required, up to 100 characters), then "We estimate their fair market value at" the amount you enter. See Option B and the quid pro quo rules. |
| If only intangible religious benefits were provided, a statement saying so | Printed if you choose the third statement: "No goods or services were provided in exchange for this contribution other than intangible religious benefits." |
Each receipt also prints the gift date as Date: and the receipt date as Issued:. The date isn't in the IRS list above, but the IRS's samples include it and a donor's record of a monetary gift needs it (see below).
What the receipt doesn't print, and what to check
- Value on a non-cash receipt. The IRS list calls for a description "but not the value" of a non-cash contribution. A FreeCharityReceipts non-cash receipt prints the description and no value. The Donor-declared value ($) field is for your records only. If you also choose Option B, the goods or services description and your estimate print in the Option B statement at the foot. For more, see Non-cash receipts and IRS rules for non-cash gifts.
- Option B description. The form requires a description of the goods or services and prints it in the statement beside the estimate, as the IRS list above calls for. You decide whether what you write is accurate.
- You choose the statement. The form doesn't check whether it is true. The first statement is selected to start with, and if you are signed in, the form may fill in the one saved from your last receipt, so check it each time. On Bulk paste, each row prints its own statement, and the page default applies to every row you haven't set by hand (see Paste rows for bulk receipts). The IRS limits intangible religious benefits to those provided by an organization organized exclusively for religious purposes, of a type not usually sold outside a gift context. See Gift types.
- Small type. The statement prints in the receipt footer in 7.5 point type. Publication 1771 says a disclosure in small print within a larger document might not meet the requirement. See Option B and the quid pro quo rules.
- Tokens and memberships. Publication 1771 lets a charity leave out goods of insubstantial value, but only on its conditions. The form doesn't check any of them.
- Token exception. All of these must be true:
- the payment is made in a fundraising campaign;
- the charity tells the donor how much is deductible; and
- either the value of the goods is not more than the lesser of 2 percent of the payment or $125, or the payment is at least $62.50 and the only items bear the charity's name or logo and cost within the low-cost limit of $12.50.
- Membership benefits exception. An annual payment of $75 or less for annual recurring rights or privileges such as free or discounted admission, shop discounts, parking, or member-only events within the low-cost limits. The IRS's quid pro quo page adds that the right to buy tickets for college athletic events is not covered.
- These are the 2023 amounts; the IRS adjusts them for inflation. Read the publication.
- Token exception. All of these must be true:
What the donor keeps
For a monetary gift, Publication 1771 says a donor needs a record of the contribution, or a timely written communication from the charity, showing the name of the organization, the date of the contribution and the amount. A donor shouldn't attach the acknowledgment to their tax return but must keep it.
FreeCharityReceipts is not a receipt archive. You download each PDF, and there is no saved receipt history. See What we keep.
A correction is a full replacement receipt, so it carries everything above. See Correct a receipt.
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