--- title: "What Must a Donation Receipt Include? The IRS $250 Rule" slug: donation-receipt-requirements description: "For any single gift of $250 or more, donors need a written acknowledgment with specific details. Here's exactly what a donation receipt must include, with a sample." publishedAt: 2026-10-02 status: published category: thank-yous tags: [donation receipts, IRS acknowledgment, $250 rule, nonprofit compliance] featured: false readingTime: 6 takeaways: - "A donor can't deduct any single gift of $250 or more without a contemporaneous written acknowledgment from the charity, per IRS Publication 1771." - "The acknowledgment must include the organization's name, the amount of cash given, a description (not the value) of any non-cash gift, and a statement that no goods or services were provided, or a description and good-faith estimate of what was." - "Email receipts are fine, and one annual summary can cover several gifts. Charities typically send acknowledgments by January 31." - "If a payment over $75 is partly a gift and partly for goods or services, like a gala ticket, you must give a written quid pro quo disclosure." - "A receipt is not a thank-you. Send both: the receipt for the tax rules, the thank-you for the relationship." --- A donor emails in February: "My accountant says I need a receipt for the $500 I gave you in October. Can you send one?" You dig through your donation platform, find the auto-generated email, and wonder whether it actually says what it needs to say. Here's the direct answer to what a donation receipt must include. **For any single gift of $250 or more, US donors need a written acknowledgment from your organization that states your organization's name, the amount of cash given (or a description of any non-cash gift), and whether the donor received any goods or services in return.** The rules come from the IRS, and they're more specific than most people expect. This guide walks through them in plain English. *This is general information to help you understand the rules, not tax or legal advice. For your organization's specific situation, talk to an accountant or attorney.* ## What is the IRS $250 rule? **The $250 rule says a donor cannot claim a federal tax deduction for any single contribution of $250 or more unless they have a contemporaneous written acknowledgment from the charity.** That's the language in [IRS Publication 1771](https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p1771.pdf), the IRS's guide to charitable contribution rules for nonprofits. A few details that trip people up: - **It's per gift, not per year.** Separate gifts under $250 aren't added together. A donor who gives $50 a month doesn't hit the threshold through any single gift. - **"Contemporaneous" doesn't mean instant.** The donor needs the acknowledgment by the earlier of the date they file their tax return or the return's due date (including extensions). - **The donor bears the risk.** If you don't send an acknowledgment, your organization isn't penalized under this rule. The donor loses the deduction. That's exactly why it matters for your relationship with them. ## What must a donation receipt include? The IRS lists the required elements. A written acknowledgment for a gift of $250 or more must include: 1. **Your organization's name.** 2. **The amount of cash contributed**, for gifts of money. 3. **A description, but not the value, of any non-cash contribution.** "Two boxes of children's books" is right. Putting a dollar value on donated property is the donor's job, not yours. 4. **A statement that no goods or services were provided** in exchange for the gift, **or** a description and good-faith estimate of the value of any goods or services that were provided. 5. **If only intangible religious benefits were provided**, a statement saying so. Most organizations also include the date of the gift and the donor's name. They aren't on the IRS's list of required items, but they're standard practice and they help donors keep track. ### A quick checklist Before you set up (or trust) your receipt template, check that it includes: - [ ] Organization's legal name - [ ] Donor's name - [ ] Date of the gift - [ ] Amount of cash, or a description of non-cash property (no value) - [ ] "No goods or services were provided in exchange for this gift," or a description and good-faith estimate of what was provided If your donation platform sends receipts automatically, open one and check it against this list. Most do it correctly. Some don't include the goods-or-services statement, and that's the line that matters most. ## Can you send donation receipts by email? Yes. The IRS accepts email acknowledgments. There's no requirement for paper, a signature, or a particular format, as long as the required information is there. ## Can one receipt cover several gifts? Yes. A single annual summary can serve as the acknowledgment for multiple gifts, as long as it includes the required information for each one. Many small nonprofits send a [year-end giving statement](/learn/year-end-giving-statement) in January that lists every gift the donor made, and it doubles as the acknowledgment for any gifts of $250 or more. On timing, the IRS notes that charities typically send written acknowledgments no later than January 31 of the year after the gift. That's practice, not a legal deadline, but it gives donors what they need before tax season. ## What is the $75 quid pro quo rule? **When a donor pays more than $75 and receives goods or services in return, you must give them a written disclosure** explaining that only the amount above the value of what they received is deductible, with a good-faith estimate of that value. The classic example from Publication 1771: a donor pays $100 for a concert ticket worth $40. Only $60 is deductible, and your disclosure should say so. This comes up most often with gala tickets, auction items, and dinner events. Publication 1771 covers the details, including exceptions for low-cost items. Unlike the $250 rule, this one does carry a penalty for the charity: $10 per contribution, up to $5,000 per fundraising event or mailing, unless the failure was due to reasonable cause. ## A sample donation receipt Here's sample text you can adapt for a cash gift with nothing given in return: > **Riverside Literacy Project** > 123 Main Street, Springfield > > Dear Jordan Lee, > > Thank you for your gift of $500 on October 14, 2026. > > No goods or services were provided in exchange for this contribution. > > Please keep this letter for your tax records. > > Riverside Literacy Project Plain, accurate, and complete. For a gala ticket, you'd replace the "no goods or services" line with something like: "In exchange for your $150 payment, you received dinner valued at $60. The deductible portion of your gift is $90." ## Is a donation receipt the same as a thank-you? No, and this is where a lot of donor relationships quietly go wrong. A receipt is a tax document. It's accurate, required, and a little cold, and it should be. A thank-you is a relationship message: it says a person noticed the gift and names what it will do. If the only thing your donors ever get from you is the receipt, they've been processed, not thanked. You can put both in the same email, but don't let the receipt language swallow the warmth. Many organizations let the donation platform send the receipt instantly and then send a separate personal note within a couple of days. We cover what that note should say in [how to write a donor thank-you letter](/learn/donor-thank-you-letter), and why speed matters in [how soon you should thank a donor](/learn/thank-donors-48-hours). The thank-you is also the first moment in the larger [donor journey](/learn/donor-journey). Receipts satisfy the IRS. Thank-yous, followed by real updates on what the gift did, are what bring donors back. ## Where Perennial fits [Perennial Giving](/) isn't a receipting system, and it doesn't replace your accountant. Your donation platform or bookkeeping tool should handle receipts. What Perennial does is the part receipts don't: it notices each gift, drafts a personal thank-you in your voice, and later drafts the progress update that tells the donor what their gift made happen. Getting the receipt right keeps donors able to deduct. Getting the rest right keeps them giving. If you're planning January statements, our guide to [year-end donor communication](/learn/year-end-donor-communication) covers what to send alongside them. ## Get the paperwork right, then do the human part Check your receipt template once against the checklist above, fix anything missing, and you're done with the compliance side for the year. Then put your energy where it counts. A correct receipt protects the donor's deduction. A warm, specific thank-you is what makes them glad they gave. --- Source: https://perennialgiving.com/learn/donation-receipt-requirements *Perennial Giving is a donor retention engine for small nonprofits. It notices who needs to hear from you, drafts the message in your voice, and you approve it in seconds. https://perennialgiving.com*