Free tool
Donation Receipt Checker
Sanity-check a charitable donation against the IRS substantiation rules. Answer a few questions and see the common receipt problems — the $250 rule, donor-advised funds, QCDs, and benefits received — flagged with a link to the source. Not a tax determination.
Your results appear here
Answer the questions and select Check this donation to see which IRS substantiation issues to review.
What this checker looks for
Most receipting problems come down to a handful of IRS rules that are easy to miss. A gift of $250 or more needs a contemporaneous written acknowledgement that says whether the donor received anything in return. When they did, only the amount above the value of that benefit is deductible — and a payment over $75 triggers a written disclosure requirement.
Two cases trip people up the most. A grant recommended from a donor-advised fund is not the individual's deductible gift — the sponsoring organization is the donor of record, and issuing a personal tax-deductible receipt for it is a common mistake. And a qualified charitable distribution from an IRA is excluded from income rather than deducted, so it must never be double-counted as an itemized deduction.
The checker flags these for review and links each one to the IRS source. It does not make a tax determination — it points you and the charity at the questions worth confirming.
Where this comes from
Every rule above traces to a primary IRS source, not our own interpretation. Read the guidance directly:
- IRS Publication 1771 — Charitable Contributions Substantiation and Disclosure Requirements
- IRS — Substantiating Charitable Contributions (recordkeeping and quid pro quo disclosure)
- IRS — Donor-Advised Funds
- IRS — Retirement Plans FAQs on IRA Distributions (Qualified Charitable Distributions)
- IRS — About Form 8283, Noncash Charitable Contributions
How to use the checker
- 1
Tell us about the gift
Pick the tax year and donation type — cash, a donor-advised fund grant, an IRA distribution (QCD), stock, or other property — and enter the amount.
- 2
Answer a few substantiation questions
Whether the donor received anything in return, and whether a written acknowledgement was provided with the goods-or-services statement.
- 3
See the issues flagged
The checker flags the common problems for your donation type — the $250 rule, DAF misclassification, QCD requirements, and benefit-value proration — each linked to its IRS source.
Frequently asked questions
- Is this a tax determination or tax advice?
- No. The Donation Receipt Checker flags common substantiation issues for you to review, and describes amounts as likely eligible for consideration only. It is general information, not tax or legal advice. Confirm anything specific with the charity or a qualified tax professional.
- What is the $250 acknowledgement rule?
- Under IRC Section 170(f)(8), a donor cannot deduct a single gift of $250 or more without a contemporaneous written acknowledgement from the charity. That acknowledgement has to name the amount, state whether the donor received any goods or services in return, and give a good-faith estimate of the value of anything they did receive.
- Why is a donor-advised fund (DAF) grant treated differently?
- When a donor recommends a grant from a donor-advised fund, the sponsoring organization is the donor of record, and the individual already claimed their deduction when they funded the DAF. So the charity should thank the advisor but should not issue them a personal tax-deductible receipt. The donor also cannot receive more than an incidental benefit in return for a DAF grant.
- How does receiving something in return affect the deduction?
- Only the amount above the fair market value of any goods or services counts. If a donor pays $300 and receives a $90 dinner, roughly $210 is likely eligible for consideration. When a quid pro quo payment tops $75, the charity is required to give the donor a written disclosure stating that deductible amount.
- What are the rules for a qualified charitable distribution (QCD)?
- A QCD lets an IRA owner age 70½ or older send funds directly from the IRA trustee to a charity. The distribution is excluded from taxable income, so it cannot also be claimed as an itemized deduction, no goods or services may be received in return, and there is an annual per-owner cap that is indexed for inflation.
- Does the tool store my answers or the donation details?
- No. The questionnaire runs entirely in your browser, and your answers and the resulting findings are never sent to a server.
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