This is a payment a donor makes to a charity partly as a contribution and partly for goods or services. For example, if a donor gives a charity $100 and receives a concert ticket valued at $40, the donor has made a quid pro quo contribution. In this example, the charitable contribution part of the payment is $60. Even though the deductible part of the payment is not more than $75, a disclosure statement (below) must be provided by the organization to the donor because the donor’s payment (quid pro quo contribution) is more than $75. Failure to make the required disclosure may result in a penalty (below) to the organization.
Disclosure Statement
The 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 any money (and the value of any property other than money) contributed by the donor over the fair market value of goods or services provided by the charity, and
- Provide the donor with a good faith estimate of the fair market value of the goods or services that the donor received. The charity must furnish the statement in connection with either the solicitation or the receipt of the quid pro quo contribution. If the disclosure statement is furnished in connection with a particular solicitation, it is not necessary for the organization to provide another statement when it actually receives the contribution.
No disclosure statement is required if any of the following is true:
- The goods or services given to a donor have insubstantial value as described in Revenue Procedures 90-12 and 92-49,
- There is no donative element involved in a particular transaction with a charity (for example, there is generally no donative element involved in a visitor’s purchase from a museum gift shop).
- There is only an intangible religious benefit provided to the donor. The intangible religious benefit must be provided to the donor by an organization organized exclusively for religious purposes, and must be of a type that generally is not sold in a commercial transaction outside the donative context. For example, a donor who, for a payment, is granted admission to a religious ceremony for which there is no admission charge is provided an intangible religious benefit. A donor is not provided intangible religious benefits for payments made for tuition for education leading to a recognized degree, travel services, or consumer goods.
- The donor makes a payment of $75 or less per year and receives only annual membership benefits that consist of:
- Any rights or privileges (other than the right to purchase tickets for college athletic events) that the taxpayer can exercise often during the membership period, such as free or discounted admissions or parking or preferred access to goods or services, or
- Admission to events that are open only to members and the cost per person of which is within the limits for low-cost articles described in Revenue Procedures 90-12 and 92-49 (as adjusted for inflation). Also see the discussion of insubstantial value above.
Good Faith Estimate of Fair Market Value
An organization may use any reasonable method to estimate the fair market value (FMV) of goods or services it provided to a donor, as long as it applies the method in good faith. The organization may estimate the FMV of goods or services that generally are not commercially available by using the FMV of similar or comparable goods or services. Goods or services may be similar or comparable even if they do not have the unique qualities of the goods or services being valued.
Example 1. A charity provides a one-hour tennis lesson with a tennis professional for the first $500 payment it receives. The tennis professional provides one-hour lessons on a commercial basis for $100. A good faith estimate of the lesson’s FMV is $100.
Example 2. For a payment of $50,000, a museum allows a donor to hold a private event in a room of the museum. A good faith estimate of the FMV of the right to hold the event in the museum can be made by using the cost of renting a hotel ballroom with a capacity, amenities, and atmosphere comparable to the museum room, even though the hotel ballroom lacks the unique art displayed in the museum room. If the hotel ballroom rents for $2,500, a good faith estimate of the FMV of the right to hold the event in the museum is $2,500.
Example 3. For a payment of $1,000, a charity provides an evening tour of a museum conducted by a well-known artist. The artist does not provide tours on a commercial basis. Tours of the museum normally are free to the public. A good faith estimate of the FMV of the evening museum tour is $0 even though the artist conducts it.
Penalty for Failure to Disclose
A penalty is imposed on a charity that does not make the required disclosure of a quid pro quo contribution of more than $75. The penalty is $10 per contribution, not to exceed $5,000 per fundraising event or mailing. The charity can avoid the penalty if it can show that the failure was due to reasonable cause.
Under a new recordkeeping rule effective for all cash, check, electronic funds transfers, credit card charges, or other monetary contributions of any amount made in taxable years beginning after August 17, 2006, the donor must obtain and keep a bank record or a written communication from the donee as a record of the contribution. Written records prepared by the donor (such as check registers or personal notations) are no longer sufficient to support charitable contributions. Bank records for this recordkeeping requirement include bank or credit union statements, canceled checks, or credit card statements. They must show the date paid or posted, the name of the charity, and the amount of the payment. Taxpayers who claim charitable contributions made by payroll deduction can satisfy the recordkeeping requirement if the donor has (1) a pay stub, W-2, or other document furnished by the employer that states the amount withheld for payment to charity, and (2) a pledge card other document prepared by or at the direction of the charity that shows the name of a donee. An organization described in section 170(c), or a Principal Combined Fund Organization for purposes of the Combined Federal Campaign, will be treated as a donee organization for purposes of the new recordkeeping provision.
A donor claiming a deduction of $250 or more is also required to obtain and keep a contemporaneous written acknowledgment for a charitable contribution . To be contemporaneous the written acknowledgment must generally be obtained by the donor no later than the date the donor files the return for the year the contribution is made. The written acknowledgment must state whether the donee provides any goods or services in consideration for the contribution. If the donee provides goods or services to the donor in exchange for the contribution (a quid pro quo contribution), the written acknowledgment must include a good faith estimate of the value of the goods or services. The donee is not required to record or report this information to the IRS on behalf of a donor. The donor is responsible for requesting and obtaining the written acknowledgment from the donee. Although there is no prescribed format for the written acknowledgment, it must provide sufficient information to substantiate the amount of the contribution. For more information, see Publication 1771.
The contemporaneous written acknowledgment may be contained in the same document as the written communication from the donee used to satisfy the new cash recordkeeping requirement, as long as it contains all information required by both the recordkeeping requirement and the contemporaneous written acknowledgment requirement.
For claimed contributions over $5,000, generally a qualified appraisal prepared by a qualified appraiser must be obtained. For appraisals prepared in connection with returns or submissions filed after August 17, 2006, see Notice 2006-96.
Household items and clothing contributed to charity after August 17, 2006 must be in at least good used condition to be deductible. This requirement does not apply to contributions of food, paintings, antiques, other art objects, jewelry and gems, or collections, and does not apply to a contribution of an item for which a deduction of more than $500 is claimed if the taxpayer obtains a qualified appraisal of the item.
Additional information
- Publication 1771, Charitable Contributions – Substantiation and Disclosure Requirements
- Updates on Disclosure and Substantiation Rules.
- IRC 6700 and IRC 6701 and Charitable Contribution Deductions
- Publication 526, Charitable Contributions
- On-Line Mini-Course – Deducting Charitable Contributions.
- Contributions of vehicles
DISCLAIMER: This information is not intended to provide legal or accounting advice, or to address specific situations. Please consult with your legal or tax advisor to supplement and verify what you learn here.
