For every 501(c)(3) that takes donations
501(c)(3) donation receipt: requirements, a free template, and what changes for donors in 2026
A donation receipt, a tax receipt, a thank-you letter and an "acknowledgment" are the same document under US tax law. The IRS does not care what you call it or whether it looks like a letter or a form; it cares that six pieces of information are there. This page lists them, gives you a receipt-style template, shows how to check the automatic receipts your payment platform already sends, and explains why 2026 makes receipts matter for small donors who never itemized before.
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What a donation receipt must contain
| Element | Required? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Organization's name | Yes | Legal name. Address and EIN are customary, not required. |
| Amount of cash contributed | Yes, for cash | Gross amount the donor gave, before processing fees. |
| Description of non-cash property | Yes, for property | Describe it; never state a value. See in-kind gifts. |
| Goods-or-services statement | Yes | "No goods or services were provided," or a description and good-faith value of what was, or the intangible religious benefits line. |
| Date of the contribution | Effectively yes | Donors must tie the gift to a tax year; a statement listing dates satisfies it. |
| Delivered in time | Yes | Donor must have it by the earlier of filing or the return's due date. See year-end deadline. |
| Signature, letterhead, receipt number, donor SSN | No | Optional. Never collect SSNs for receipts. |
Receipt, acknowledgment, thank-you letter — which one do we send?
Send one document that does both jobs. The statute (Internal Revenue Code §170(f)(8)) requires a "contemporaneous written acknowledgment" for every gift of $250 or more, and Publication 1771 explains that it can take any written form. A receipt-style form is quickest to produce; a short letter that thanks the donor by name and says what the money did is what keeps them giving. The generator produces the letter form with every required element; the template below is the form version for groups that prefer it.
2026: small donors can deduct again
Starting with the 2026 tax year, taxpayers who take the standard deduction can deduct up to $1,000 of cash gifts to public charities — $2,000 on a joint return — on top of the standard deduction. The deduction covers cash only (checks, cards, transfers; not clothing, stock or household goods) and excludes gifts to donor-advised funds and private foundations. Nothing about substantiation changed: donors still need a bank record or a written receipt for every cash gift and a written acknowledgment with the goods-or-services statement at $250 and above. What changes is who asks. The $25 monthly donor who never itemized now has a reason to want your receipt, and to notice if it is missing the statement. Itemizers, meanwhile, lose the first 0.5% of adjusted gross income of their giving, so your largest donors will read their letters more carefully too.
Practical response: send a receipt or year-end statement to every donor in January, not just the $250+ list, and make sure each one carries the statement.
Check the receipts your platform already sends
Pull one real receipt from each channel you use and check it against this list:
| Element | What to check |
|---|---|
| Your organization's legal name | Most platforms print it. Check that it is the legal name, not a campaign title. |
| Amount of cash | Always present. Confirm it is the gross gift, not the amount after processing fees. |
| Date of the contribution | Always present. |
| Goods-or-services statement | The one most often missing. Payment-processor receipts (PayPal, Square, Venmo, Zelle, bank transfers) are payment confirmations and usually say nothing about goods or services. Donation platforms such as Donorbox, Givebutter, Zeffy and Network for Good normally include the sentence, but verify in a real receipt. |
| Description of non-cash property | Platforms only handle money. Items, stock and crypto need a separate in-kind letter. |
| Value of any benefit received | Event tickets, memberships with real perks and auction wins need the fair-market-value disclosure; platforms rarely know the value, so you add it. |
Checks, cash, Zelle, Venmo-to-a-person and bank transfers produce no donor receipt at all, so those donors need yours. Grants from PayPal Giving Fund (Facebook and Instagram fundraisers) and donor-advised funds were already receipted by the intermediary — thank the person but do not issue a tax receipt for money you received as a grant. See exporting from PayPal, QuickBooks, Givebutter, Zeffy and others.
Mistakes that make a receipt worthless
- No goods-or-services sentence. The Tax Court has disallowed six-figure deductions over this one missing line; the IRS does not accept a later fix after the return is filed.
- Stating a value for donated property. The donor values it, you describe it.
- Calling a purchase a donation. Raffle tickets, event dinners at cost, tuition, adoption fees and merchandise are purchases.
- Net-of-fee amounts. The donor gave the gross amount; processing fees are your expense.
- Receipting the wrong person. Checks from a company, a trust or a DAF are gifts from that entity, not the individual who signed the cover note.
- Sending it after they filed. A late acknowledgment does not count, no matter how correct.
501(c)(3) donation receipt template
Form-style. Replace the bracketed fields and delete whichever goods-or-services sentence does not apply.
DONATION RECEIPT [Organization legal name] [Mailing address] EIN [00-0000000] · A 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization Receipt date: [Date issued] Donor: [Donor full name] Donor address: [Street, City, State ZIP] Date of contribution: [Date received] Amount of cash received: $[Amount] Non-cash property received: [None / description of items, with no value stated] No goods or services were provided in exchange for this contribution. [OR: In exchange for this contribution, the donor received [description], with a good-faith estimated value of $[Value]. The deductible amount is limited to the excess of the contribution over that value.] Thank you for supporting [Organization name]. Please keep this receipt with your tax records. [Signer name], [Title]
A receipt for every donor, from the spreadsheet you already have
Paste or upload your gift list (Name, Date, Amount, optional Email, In-kind and Goods value columns). The generator writes a compliant acknowledgment for each donor, merges repeat gifts into one year-end statement, flags refunds, DAF and PayPal Giving Fund grants, and exports a PDF, Word file or mail-merge CSV so you can email every receipt in one pass.
Donation receipt questions
Is a donation receipt the same thing as a donation acknowledgment letter?
For US federal tax purposes, yes. The Internal Revenue Code calls the document a "contemporaneous written acknowledgment" (section 170(f)(8)); donors, bookkeepers and software call it a receipt, a tax receipt, a thank-you letter or a giving statement. The IRS cares about the contents, not the title or the format: it can be a letter, a postcard, an email or a receipt-style form. This site uses "letter" because a short personal letter is also the better donor-relations move, but the receipt template above satisfies the same rules.
What must a 501(c)(3) donation receipt include?
Your organization's name; the amount of cash or a description (not value) of any non-cash property; and one of three statements — that no goods or services were provided, or a description and good-faith estimate of the value of what was provided, or, for a religious organization, that only intangible religious benefits were provided. The date of the gift is not technically listed in the statute but every practitioner includes it, because the donor has to prove which year the gift belongs to. Nothing requires an EIN, a receipt number, a signature or letterhead, though an EIN is helpful and most receipts carry one.
Does every donor need a receipt, or only gifts of $250 and up?
The written acknowledgment is legally required for the donor to deduct any single gift of $250 or more. Below $250 a donor can rely on a bank record (cancelled check, card statement) instead. In practice send a receipt for every gift: donors who gave cash, donors who lost the statement, and from 2026 the many standard-deduction filers who can newly deduct up to $1,000 ($2,000 joint) of cash gifts all need a record showing your name, the date and the amount.
What changed for donors in 2026?
Under the 2025 tax law, taxpayers who take the standard deduction can deduct up to $1,000 of cash gifts to public charities ($2,000 on a joint return) starting with the 2026 tax year, filed in early 2027. The deduction applies to cash only — not clothing, stock or household goods — and not to gifts to donor-advised funds or private foundations. The substantiation rules are unchanged: a bank record or written receipt for every cash gift, and a written acknowledgment with the goods-or-services statement for $250 and up. Expect more small donors to ask for receipts, and more of them to notice a missing statement. Itemizers also face a new floor of 0.5% of adjusted gross income, so the biggest donors scrutinize letters more, not less.
Can the receipt be an email or a PDF?
Yes. IRS Publication 1771 allows the acknowledgment to be delivered on paper or electronically, including email. An emailed PDF or even a plain-text email with the required elements works. Keep a copy or the data to regenerate it.
Do donation receipts need a receipt number?
No. Sequential receipt numbers are a Canadian (CRA) requirement for official donation receipts and a habit carried over from bookkeeping. US rules do not require them. Numbering is harmless if your system does it, but do not delay receipts to set up a numbering scheme.
Our payment platform already emails donors a receipt. Are we done?
Only if that receipt contains every required element, in particular the goods-or-services statement. Payment processors (PayPal business, Square, Venmo, Stripe's default receipt) send payment confirmations that typically omit it; purpose-built donation platforms usually include it but let you edit it out by accident. Pull one live receipt from each channel and check it against the table above. For any channel that fails — and for checks, cash and bank transfers, which produce no receipt at all — send your own.
Should the receipt state that the donation is tax-deductible?
You may state that you are a 501(c)(3) and that contributions are deductible to the extent allowed by law. Do not promise a specific deduction, state a value for property, or describe a payment that bought something (raffle ticket, event dinner, adoption fee, tuition) as deductible. Those are the lines that get receipts challenged.
Can we send one year-end receipt instead of one per gift?
Yes. A single statement that lists each gift with its date and amount, plus the goods-or-services statement covering all of them, is a valid acknowledgment for every gift on it. It must reach the donor before they file. Most organizations send it in January.
What about a receipt for a donated item, stock or crypto?
Describe the property in reasonable detail and the date received, include the goods-or-services statement, and state no dollar value — the donor determines fair market value. Over $500 the donor files Form 8283; over $5,000 they need a qualified appraisal and your signature on Form 8283 Section B. Use the in-kind letter rather than the cash receipt format.
General information based on Internal Revenue Code §170(f)(8) and §170(p), IRS Publication 1771 and Publication 526, as of 2026. Not legal or tax advice. Confirm 2026 figures with the IRS or a CPA before printing them in donor materials.