Donation Receipt Requirements: What the IRS Actually Requires (2026)

If your nonprofit, church, or booster club receives donations, the IRS has specific expectations for the written acknowledgment you give donors. The rules are simpler than they sound - but the wording matters, because your donors need it to claim their deduction.

When a receipt is required

A donor needs a written acknowledgment from you for any single contribution of $250 or more to claim it on their taxes.
For quid pro quo contributions over $75 (the donor got something in return), YOU are required to provide a written disclosure - this one is on the organization, with penalties for skipping it.
For smaller gifts, a receipt is not legally required - but sending one for every gift is the easiest policy, and donors appreciate it.

What the receipt must include

Your organization’s name (adding your EIN helps donors verify you)
The amount of cash contributed, or a description (but NOT the value) of non-cash property
The date of the contribution
One of these statements: that no goods or services were provided in exchange; or a description and good-faith estimate of the value of what was provided

The exact sentence most receipts need

Standard no-benefit acknowledgment

No goods or services were provided in exchange for this contribution.

If the donor DID receive something - a dinner, an auction item, event tickets - you must instead describe it and give a good-faith estimate of its fair market value, and only the amount above that value is deductible.

Non-cash (in-kind) donations are different

For donated goods, describe the property but never assign it a value - valuing the donation is the donor’s responsibility under IRS rules. "Twelve folding chairs" is correct; "twelve folding chairs worth $240" is not.

Send receipts without looking up the rules again

DonorLedger sends IRS-compliant receipts in one click - the right wording for cash, in-kind, and quid pro quo gifts is built in, and every donor gets a year-end statement in January automatically. Try it free for 7 days, no credit card required.