Year-end giving statements
Year-end donor statements: template, deadline, and how to send all of them in one afternoon
Every January, donors ask for one thing: a single letter listing everything they gave last year, with the IRS wording their tax preparer needs. Here is the template, what the IRS actually requires, and the fastest way to produce a statement for every donor at once.
Your first batch — the whole list — is free. Donor data never leaves your browser.
What a year-end giving statement must include
A year-end statement (also called an annual contribution statement or donor tax summary) is simply a contemporaneous written acknowledgment that covers several gifts at once. IRS Publication 1771 requires the same elements as a single-gift letter:
- Your organization's name (EIN is optional but appreciated).
- The amount of each cash gift and its date — a small table works well — or a description of any non-cash gift.
- A statement that no goods or services were provided, or a description and good-faith estimate of the value of what the donor received.
- If applicable, a statement that goods or services consisted entirely of intangible religious benefits.
One statement can cover every gift of the year as long as the goods-or-services statement applies to each of them. If one gift involved a benefit (a gala dinner, an auction item), disclose it separately in the same letter.
Is the deadline really January 31?
The IRS does not set a calendar date. The rule is that the donor must have the acknowledgment by the date they file their return or the return's due date (including extensions), whichever is earlier. January 31 is the practical convention, because early filers start in late January — and because a donor who cannot find a letter by then will call you. Aim to send statements in the last two weeks of January.
Which donors need one?
Legally, any donor who gave a single gift of $250 or more needs a written acknowledgment to deduct it. In practice, send one to everyone who gave: it is the cheapest donor-retention touch you have, and a donor with twelve $25 monthly gifts still wants a $300 summary for their records.
Year-end statement template
Replace the bracketed fields. Delete the optional line if no donor received a benefit.
[Organization name] [Mailing address] EIN [00-0000000] [Date] [Donor name] [Donor address] Dear [Donor first name], Thank you for standing with [Organization name] in [Tax year]. Your generosity made a real difference: [one sentence about what the gifts accomplished]. For your records, here is a summary of your contributions received in [Tax year]: Date Amount [01/15/YYYY] $[250.00] [06/10/YYYY] $[100.00] [12/28/YYYY] $[500.00] -------------------------- Total cash contributions: $[850.00] No goods or services were provided in exchange for these contributions. [If a gift involved a benefit, replace the line above with: "In exchange for your gift of $___ on ___, you received ___ with an estimated fair market value of $___. The remainder of your contributions was received without goods or services in return."] [Organization name] is a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Please keep this letter with your tax records. With gratitude, [Signer name] [Title]
The one-afternoon checklist
- 1
Pull the full-year gift list
Export every gift from your bank, PayPal, Givebutter, Zeffy, QuickBooks or the spreadsheet you keep. You need: donor name, date, amount, and (if any) what the donor received.
- 2
Check the year on every gift
A check dated December 30 but deposited January 3 belongs to the year it was mailed, so fix those dates by hand. Everything else goes by date received. The generator only puts gifts dated in the chosen tax year on the statement and tells you how many it set aside.
- 3
Fix the names
Merge "Bob Smith" and "Robert Smith". One letter per household is fine if that is how they give.
- 4
Flag gifts with a benefit
Gala tickets, auction items, raffle entries, thank-you dinners. Those need a good-faith value line, and the tax-deductible portion is the gift minus that value.
- 5
Separate in-kind gifts
Describe donated goods; never assign a dollar value in your letter. The donor values them.
- 6
Pull out pass-through money
Donor-advised fund grants (Fidelity Charitable, Schwab Charitable, Vanguard Charitable, community foundations), PayPal Giving Fund payouts and employer-match checks are not deductible gifts from the individual. Thank the person, but do not call it a tax receipt. Refunds and bounced checks come off the total. The generator recognizes DAF sponsor names and flags negative rows for you.
- 7
Generate the letters
Paste the list into the generator. It groups gifts by donor, totals them, and adds the exact IRS statements each letter needs.
- 8
Send by January 31
Mail or email. If you email, put the statement in the body, not only in an attachment.
- 9
Keep a copy
Save the PDF batch with your year-end books. Auditors and donors both ask for it.
Skip the mail merge
Paste your gift list — one row per gift, any column order — and the generator groups gifts by donor, totals them, lists each date and amount, and adds the right IRS statement for every letter. Export the batch as one PDF for printing or as Word for editing. Nothing is uploaded; it all runs in your browser.
Common questions
Do monthly donors get one letter or twelve?
One year-end statement listing all twelve gifts is the norm and satisfies the rule for each gift. Many organizations also send a short thank-you when the recurring gift starts.
Our church only takes cash and checks. Do we still need statements?
Yes — the $250 rule applies to churches too, and members deduct tithes. Churches may add the "intangible religious benefits" statement when appropriate. Our generator has a toggle for it, and there is a church contribution statement template and rules page covering plate cash, designated funds and gifts to the pastor.
A donor gave stock. How do we show that?
Describe it ("100 shares of XYZ Corp received on 11/02") without a dollar value. The donor determines the deductible amount. Include it in the same year-end letter under a "non-cash contributions" line.
What if we find a gift we forgot after sending statements?
Send a corrected statement marked "Revised" that lists all gifts, including the missed one. Donors can still use it as long as they have it before they file.
Can we email statements instead of mailing them?
Yes. Put the full text in the email body (the generator's "Email" button does this) or attach the PDF and include the key statement in the body as well.
General information based on IRS Publication 1771 as of 2026, not legal or tax advice.