Charitable donations using PayPal

by Denise
(Temecula CA)

If someone donates to a charitable organization using PayPal, as long as the PayPal receipt includes all the required information, does that suffice as a receipt or does the organization still need to send a receipt on letterhead?

Comments for Charitable donations using PayPal

Click here to add your own comments

Paypal Fee and Donation
by: Anonymous

We started using PayPal last year. They require non-profit information of the organization.
I setup a PayPal Bank Account in Quickbooks and PayPal Fees Expense Account. The tithe was already an Income Account.

I credit the donor the full amount of the donation to the appropriate income account and minus out the pp fees. Depositing into the PayPal Account. I then do a transfer into our General Fund account. Its the donation less the paypal fees Just as it transfer into the checking account via a paypal transfer.

I then gave the donors an annual contribution statement showing them the full amount of their donation they made.

are you asking about donations through the PayPal Giving Fund
by: Jeff Voegtlin

If your question is in relation to gifts that are directed to the church through the PayPal Giving Fund, I believe that you should not give the donor a contribution receipt. The PayPal Giving Fund provides a charitable contribution receipt already for each donation given by the donor.

If you are using the PPGF, I'm curious about how you "keep track" of donors' contributions.

Thank you. .
by: Lewis in NC

Thank you D. Fry for stating it better and helping me remember the $250 rule.

paypal contributions
by: D Fry

The IRS has specific rules about receipts to charitable org's, especially if the contribution is equal to or greater than $250. A taxpayer is required to have proper documentation from the org receipting the contribution. Check out the info on this site regarding the proper way to receipt.
So I would, Yes, you need to send a receipt.

PayPal???
by: Lewis in NC

Cash, Checks, PayPal?? If I give regularly thru any method to a church, it would be nice to receive at least one yearly summary from that church the total of my contributions.

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to Contributions Q&A.