How to Write a Receipt for an In-Kind Donation (Non-Cash Gifts)

Someone donates a lawnmower to the church, a case of juice boxes to the booster club, or printing services to your nonprofit. They ask for "a receipt for taxes." Here is how to do that correctly.

The golden rule: describe, don’t value

Under IRS rules, the donor - not your organization - is responsible for determining the fair market value of donated property. Your receipt should describe what was received and say nothing about what it’s worth. If you write a dollar amount on an in-kind receipt, you’ve overstepped what your acknowledgment can do.

What to include

Your organization’s name (and EIN)
The donor’s name
The date received
A reasonably detailed description of the items ("12 folding chairs", "200 printed flyers")
The no-goods-or-services statement (or a quid pro quo disclosure if they got something back)

Template

In-kind donation receipt

Thank you for your contribution to [Organization] received on [date]:

Description of donated property: [description]

No goods or services were provided in exchange for this contribution. No value has been assigned to this donation; determining the fair market value of a non-cash contribution is the responsibility of the donor.

[Name], [Title]

A note on donated services

Donated time and services (a volunteer plumber, free design work) are generally NOT tax-deductible for the donor, though out-of-pocket expenses they incurred may be. You can still send a warm thank-you letter - just don’t frame it as a deductible-gift receipt.

Get the wording right automatically

DonorLedger has in-kind receipts built in - record the gift with its description and the correctly-worded receipt is one click. Try it free for 7 days, no credit card required.