501(c)(3) Donation Receipt Template & IRS Rules

Every Arizona nonprofit corporation that accepts donations needs a donation receipt it can send its donors. Federal tax law says a donor cannot deduct any single gift of $250 or more unless the donor has a written acknowledgment from the charity. If your charity does not send one, your donor can lose the deduction, and you may lose the donor.

This article gives you the complete text of a sample donation receipt you can copy and adapt, explains what each part of the receipt does, and shows you how to change the receipt if your charity's application for 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status is still pending with the IRS.

Why Your Charity Must Give Donors a Written Receipt

Section 170(f)(8) of the Internal Revenue Code says a donor cannot claim a charitable deduction for any single contribution of $250 or more unless the donor obtains a contemporaneous written acknowledgment of the gift from the charity. The IRS calls this document a “written acknowledgment.” Most people call it a donation receipt or a donation acknowledgment letter.

Technically, getting the receipt is the donor's job, and the IRS does not penalize a charity that fails to send one. In the real world, donors expect the charity to send the receipt automatically. A charity that forgets leaves its donors with a deduction the IRS can disallow in an audit, and few donors give twice to a charity that cost them money.

The IRS explains the receipt rules in IRS Publication 1771, Charitable Contributions — Substantiation and Disclosure Requirements.

Sample Donation Receipt

Copy the text below onto your charity's letterhead and replace the sample names, addresses, dates and amounts with your own. The receipt contains two alternative paragraphs about your charity's tax-exempt status. Use only one of them, and delete the instruction notes before you send the receipt.

What Every Donation Receipt Must Say

The IRS does not require a particular form. A letter, postcard, email or computer-generated form all work. What matters is what the receipt says. A receipt for a gift of $250 or more should contain:

1. The name of the charity. Use the corporation's legal name as shown in its Articles of Incorporation filed with the Arizona Corporation Commission. The law does not require the charity's EIN, but including it helps the donor's tax preparer confirm the charity is eligible to receive deductible gifts.
2. The date of the gift. A donor who deducts a cash gift of any amount must have a bank record or written communication from the charity showing the charity's name, the date and the amount, so always include the date.
3. The amount of any cash gift. For gifts of cash, checks, credit card charges and other money, state the dollar amount.
4. A description of any property given, but not its value. If the donor gave property such as a car, stock, artwork or furniture, describe the property. Never state its value. Valuing donated property is the donor's job, not the charity's.
5. A goods or services statement. State whether the charity provided any goods or services in exchange for the gift. If it did, describe them and give a good faith estimate of their value. A religious organization that provided only intangible religious benefits says so.

The sample receipt also includes the donor's name and address, the designated purpose of the gift and a statement about the charity's tax-exempt status. These items make the receipt complete and easy for the donor's tax preparer to use.

Which Tax-Exempt Status Paragraph Should You Use?

Use Option A if your nonprofit corporation has received its IRS determination letter recognizing it as tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3).

Use Option B if your corporation has filed IRS Form 1023 or Form 1023-EZ but the IRS has not yet approved it. Donors can deduct gifts made while the application is pending if the IRS later approves it. When a corporation files its application within 27 months after the end of the month in which it was formed, IRS approval is generally retroactive to the date of formation. That is why Option B says the deduction is retroactive to the date of legal formation. If your corporation filed its application after the 27-month deadline, have your attorney revise that sentence before you use it.

If your corporation has not applied for tax-exempt status, do not use either paragraph, and do not tell donors their gifts are tax-deductible. Learn how to apply in our articles IRS Form 1023: Eligibility, Instructions & Filing Guide and IRS Form 1023-EZ: Eligibility, Instructions & Filing Guide.

When Must Your Charity Send the Receipt?

The receipt must be “contemporaneous.” The donor must receive it by the earlier of (1) the date the donor files the tax return claiming the deduction or (2) the due date, including extensions, of that return. A receipt that arrives after the donor files is too late, and the IRS can disallow the deduction.

The IRS tests each gift separately. Ten separate $100 gifts during the year do not trigger the $250 written acknowledgment rule, but a single $250 gift does. One annual summary may be used to acknowledge several separate gifts of $250 or more.

Best practice: send a receipt within a few days of every gift, and send each donor an annual summary of all gifts by January 31 of the following year.

What If the Donor Received Something in Return?

When a donor pays more than $75 and receives goods or services in return, such as a gala dinner, a round of golf at a charity tournament or concert tickets, the payment is a “quid pro quo contribution.” Section 6115 of the Internal Revenue Code requires the charity to give the donor a written disclosure statement that (1) tells the donor the deductible amount is limited to the money given minus the value of the goods or services received and (2) gives a good faith estimate of that value.

Example: a donor pays $250 for a gala ticket and receives a dinner worth $80. Replace the sample receipt's “No goods or services” sentence with this: “In exchange for your contribution, you received a dinner with an estimated fair market value of $80. The amount of your contribution that is deductible for federal income tax purposes is limited to $170.”

A charity that fails to give the required disclosure faces a penalty under Section 6714 of $10 per contribution, up to $5,000 per fundraising event or mailing, unless the failure was due to reasonable cause. Low-cost token items such as a mug or tote bag bearing the charity's logo can be disregarded if they fall within the IRS's inflation-adjusted limits. Publication 1771 explains those limits.

Receipts for Gifts of Property

When a donor gives property instead of money, the receipt describes the property, such as “one 2018 Honda Accord” or “100 shares of XYZ Corp. common stock,” but never states its value.

Additional IRS rules apply to larger gifts of property. A donor who claims more than $500 for noncash gifts must file Form 8283 with the donor's tax return. For most property worth more than $5,000, the donor needs a qualified appraisal, and the charity must sign the donor's Form 8283. If the charity sells or otherwise disposes of that property within three years, it generally must file Form 8282 with the IRS. A charity that receives a car, boat or airplane worth more than $500 must generally give the donor IRS Form 1098-C within 30 days.

Why Donation Receipts Matter Even More in 2026

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act changed the federal charitable deduction starting in 2026. Taxpayers who take the standard deduction can now deduct up to $1,000 ($2,000 for married couples filing jointly) of cash gifts to qualifying charities. Before 2026, most of these donors received no tax benefit from giving.

That means many more of your donors now have a reason to keep receipts, including donors who give modest amounts. Donors who itemize face a new limit: only charitable gifts that exceed 0.5% of their adjusted gross income are deductible. Either way, a donor who cannot document a gift cannot deduct it.

Donation Receipt FAQs

Does my charity have to send a receipt for gifts under $250?

The written acknowledgment rule applies only to single gifts of $250 or more. However, under Section 170(f)(17) a donor who deducts a cash gift of any amount, even $10, must have a bank record or a written communication from the charity showing the charity's name, the date and the amount. Sending a receipt for every gift is the simplest way to protect all of your donors.

Can my charity email the donation receipt?

Yes. The IRS accepts a receipt delivered by email, as long as it contains the required information and the donor receives it on time.

Does a donation receipt have to be signed?

Federal law does not require a signature. A letter signed by an officer of the charity, such as the treasurer in the sample receipt, looks professional and shows donors the charity takes their gifts seriously.

Is a gift designated for a specific program still deductible?

Yes, as long as the charity controls how the money is used. A gift designated for a program the charity operates, such as the Youth Literacy Program in the sample receipt, is generally deductible. A gift earmarked for a specific individual is generally not deductible.

Can my charity tell donors their gifts are tax-deductible before the IRS approves its application?

Only with the qualifying language in Option B of the sample receipt. Never tell donors your charity is recognized as tax-exempt by the IRS until it has received its IRS determination letter.

Need Help Forming an Arizona Nonprofit Corporation or Getting 501(c)(3) Status?

Arizona nonprofit attorneys Richard Keyt and his son, attorney and former CPA Richard C. Keyt, have formed 550+ Arizona nonprofit corporations that became 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations. See our step-by-step guide on how to form an Arizona nonprofit corporation.

Our flat fee to form an Arizona nonprofit corporation is $1,297 and includes the 28 services described in Arizona Nonprofit Corporation Formation Services. Our flat fee to prepare IRS Form 1023, the application for 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status, is $3,500. See our article called IRS Form 1023 Preparation Services.

To hire us to form your Arizona nonprofit corporation, submit our nonprofit incorporation questionnaire, call 480-664-7478 or email rk@keytlaw.com. You can also book a free office, phone or Zoom video consultation.

This article provides general information about federal tax rules for charitable contribution receipts and is not legal or tax advice for any specific situation. Consult your attorney or tax advisor about your organization's circumstances.