Governance
Contribution Acknowledgment
Receipt templates required by Internal Revenue Code §170(f)(8)
Why this matters
A donor cannot deduct any single contribution of $250 or more without a contemporaneous written acknowledgment from the church that states the amount and whether any goods or services were provided in return. The church, not the donor, is expected to provide it. Any payment over $75 that is partly a gift and partly for goods or services requires a disclosure statement. Send annual statements by January 31.
Single-gift acknowledgment
Spiritual Results [Address] · [Email]
[Date]
Dear [Donor],
Thank you for your contribution of $[amount] received on [date] [or: of the following property: (description, no value stated)].
Spiritual Results is a church described in Sections 170(b)(1)(A)(i), 501(c)(3), and 508(c)(1)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code. Contributions to it are deductible to the extent permitted by law.
No goods or services were provided in exchange for this contribution, other than intangible religious benefits.
(If goods or services were provided: In exchange for this contribution you received [description], which we estimate in good faith to have a value of $[amount]. The deductible portion of your contribution is limited to the amount by which it exceeds that value.)
With gratitude,
[Name], Treasurer
Annual statement
Spiritual Results — Statement of Contributions, [Year]
Donor: [Name]
| Date | Amount | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Total |
No goods or services were provided in exchange for these contributions other than intangible religious benefits, except as noted above.
Spiritual Results is a church described in Sections 170(b)(1)(A)(i), 501(c)(3), and 508(c)(1)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code.
[Name], Treasurer · [Date]
Notes for the Treasurer
- Keep a copy of every acknowledgment.
- For gifts of property, describe the property but do not state a value; the donor values it. Gifts of property over $5,000 need the donor's appraisal and Form 8283, which the Church signs to acknowledge receipt only.
- Do not accept gifts earmarked for a named individual as a pass-through; they are not deductible and they are a private-benefit problem.
- Quid-pro-quo disclosures apply to any payment over $75 made partly as a gift and partly for goods or services (a dinner, a retreat fee).