For church treasurers and finance teams
Church contribution statements: free template, the IRS rules for tithes and offerings, and a generator for the whole congregation
Every January the treasurer owes each giving household one letter: everything they gave last year, with the wording their tax preparer expects — including the one line only churches use, about intangible religious benefits. Here is the template, the rules in plain English, and a way to produce a statement for every member from the giving spreadsheet you already keep.
Your first batch — the whole congregation — is free. Giving records never leave your browser.
What a church giving statement must include
The IRS does not have a special form for churches. A contribution statement is a contemporaneous written acknowledgment under Publication 1771, and it needs:
- The church's name.
- The amount of each cash contribution (a dated list or a single total — a list is friendlier) or a description of any non-cash gift.
- A statement that no goods or services were provided, or a description and good-faith value of what the member received, or — the church-specific option — a statement that the only benefits were intangible religious benefits.
A member cannot deduct any single gift of $250 or more without this statement, and since 2007 they need a bank record or a written statement from you for every cash gift, however small. That is why churches send statements to every giver, not only the large ones.
What does not belong on the statement
- Anonymous plate cash. Nobody can deduct it; it is not attributable to a person.
- Payments for things: camp and retreat fees for the payer's own family, mission-trip costs for the payer, school tuition, bookstore and coffee-bar sales, fundraiser dinner tickets (those need a quid pro quo disclosure instead).
- Gifts earmarked for a specific individual ("for the Johnsons", "for the pastor's Christmas gift"). These are gifts to the person, not to the church.
- Pass-through money: donor-advised fund grants (Fidelity Charitable, Schwab Charitable, National Christian Foundation) already gave the donor a receipt. Thank the family, but do not call it a deductible gift from them. The generator recognizes common DAF names and flags them.
- Volunteer time. Never deductible. Out-of-pocket expenses a volunteer paid can be, but they need a separate letter without a dollar amount.
In-kind gifts to the church
A donated piano, a van, or 300 pounds of food for the pantry: describe it on the statement and never put a dollar value on it. The donor sets the value on their own return. For a vehicle the church must issue Form 1098-C; for a single item over $5,000 the donor needs an appraisal and your signature on Form 8283.
Church contribution statement template
Replace the bracketed fields. Delete the fund column if you only track totals.
[Church name] [Mailing address] EIN [00-0000000] [Date] [Member name] [Member address] Dear [First name], Thank you for your faithful giving to [Church name] during [Tax year]. Your tithes and offerings supported [one sentence: worship, youth ministry, the food pantry, missions]. For your tax records, here is a summary of your contributions received in [Tax year]: Date Fund Amount [01/07/YYYY] General $[100.00] [03/03/YYYY] Building fund $[250.00] [12/22/YYYY] Missions $[500.00] ---------------------------------------------- Total contributions: $[850.00] No goods or services were provided in exchange for these contributions other than intangible religious benefits. [Church name] is a church described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code; contributions are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. Please keep this statement with your tax records. In Christ's service, [Treasurer / pastor name] [Title]
From giving spreadsheet to a statement per household
Paste your giving records — one row per gift with name, date and amount; a fund column is fine — and the generator groups gifts by household, totals them, lists each date and amount, and adds the intangible religious benefits statement to every letter. Download the batch as one PDF for the mail, or as Word to edit. Works with exports from Tithe.ly, Planning Center Giving, Breeze, Pushpay, Subsplash, QuickBooks or plain Excel.
Questions church treasurers ask
Does a church need a 501(c)(3) determination letter for members to deduct gifts?
No. Churches are automatically treated as tax-exempt and do not have to apply, so your statement does not need an IRS letter number. Many churches still write "a church described in Section 501(c)(3)" so a tax preparer recognizes it at a glance.
What is the "intangible religious benefits" line and when do we use it?
The IRS requires every acknowledgment to say whether the donor received goods or services. Worship, sacraments, teaching and pastoral care are "intangible religious benefits" that do not reduce the deduction, so a church may state that the only benefits were of that kind. Use it on every regular contribution statement. Do not use it for a ticketed dinner, a bookstore purchase or a youth-camp fee — those are real goods or services.
Loose cash in the offering plate — do we have to report it on someone's statement?
You cannot: you do not know who gave it. Since 2007 a donor needs a bank record or a written statement from the church for every cash gift of any size, so anonymous plate cash is not deductible for anyone. Encourage members who want a deduction to use envelopes, checks or online giving, and record envelope cash by name.
Are gifts to the building fund, missions fund or benevolence fund deductible?
Yes, as long as the church keeps control over how the money is used. Designated funds the church owns are ordinary contributions and belong on the statement. List the fund name if your members like to see it, but one total is enough for the IRS.
A member gave money "for Pastor Dave" or for a specific family. Is that deductible?
Usually not. A gift earmarked for a named individual is a gift to that person, not to the church, even if it passes through the church account. Keep those off the contribution statement and talk to your CPA. (A church-controlled benevolence fund that the church decides how to spend is different and is deductible.)
Mission-trip payments, camp fees, school tuition, bookstore purchases?
Not contributions. Paying for your own child's camp or your own trip is a purchase, not a gift, and tuition is never a charitable contribution. Leave these out of the statement entirely. If a member sponsors someone else's trip and the church controls the funds, that part can be a contribution.
The December 31 check arrived January 4. Which year?
A check counts in the year it was mailed, so a check postmarked December 31 belongs on the prior-year statement even though you deposited it in January. Online gifts count when the card is charged. The generator puts every gift dated in the chosen tax year on the statement and tells you how many it set aside.
When should church contribution statements go out?
The rule is that members must have the statement before they file. Most churches mail or email them in the second half of January; a few also send mid-year statements so members can check their records. Keep a copy of the batch with the year's books.
Can we email statements instead of printing them?
Yes. Put the statement text in the body of the email (the generator's Email button does this) or attach the PDF. Email is fine as a written acknowledgment.
General information based on IRS Publication 1771 and Publication 1828 (Tax Guide for Churches) as of 2026. Not legal or tax advice; designated-gift and clergy questions in particular deserve a CPA.