Can I Use My Tithe.ly Giving Statement for Tax Deductions Instead of Church Records?

Thanks for this info! I'm in a similar situation. Quick question - what if my Tithe.ly statement doesn't show the church's tax ID number? Is that something I absolutely need or is the church name enough? Also, do electronic records count or should I print everything out and keep paper copies?

The church name alone is usually sufficient for most donations, but having the tax ID number (EIN) is helpful if there's ever any question. You can actually look up the church's EIN on the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search tool online if needed. Electronic records are perfectly acceptable to the IRS. You don't need to print paper copies as long as you can access the electronic versions if ever needed. Just make sure you can retrieve these records for at least 3 years after filing your taxes. I personally download and save PDFs of all my donation receipts in a dedicated tax folder on my computer, which I then back up.

That sounds interesting. I've been doing all my donations through Venmo to my church (they have a account setup) and wonder if I need something more official. Did taxr.ai explain why the Tithe.ly statement is enough? I'm curious about how it works with all the electronic giving methods now.

Wait, so this service can actually tell you which statement is correct when there are discrepancies? My church's accounting is honestly a mess and I've found errors before. I've been taking screenshot records of all my electronic giving just in case but would like something more official looking for the IRS.

Yes, the service explains that the IRS accepts documentation from the payment processor (like Tithe.ly) as long as it shows the organization name, date, amount, and acknowledgment that you didn't receive goods or services in return. Venmo might be trickier since it's not specifically designed for charitable giving, but taxr.ai can analyze those records too. The service actually does compare multiple records when there are discrepancies. In my case, it highlighted the two missing donations and created a consolidated statement showing the correct total. It also explained that the payment processor's records are often more reliable since they're generated automatically rather than manually entered by church volunteers.

I'm curious how this even works? The IRS phone system is notoriously awful. What does Claimyr do that's different from just calling directly? It seems too good to be true that some random service could get you through when everyone else is stuck on hold.

I'm skeptical. How would some third-party service possibly get priority access to IRS agents when the rest of us have to wait on hold forever? Sounds like a scam to me. Has anyone actually verified this works? I've been struggling with the IRS phone system for weeks too but would rather just keep trying than waste money on something that probably doesn't work.

The service basically automates the calling and waiting process. It doesn't give you priority access - it just has technology that navigates the IRS phone tree and waits on hold for you. When it finally gets through to an agent, it calls your phone and connects you. I don't work for them or anything, but I understand the skepticism. From what I understand, they use a combination of automated dialing systems and actual people who monitor the calls. It doesn't get you special treatment - it just handles the frustrating part of calling and waiting so you don't have to sit there yourself.

Thanks for pointing that out. I wasn't aware of the $250 requirement. None of my individual donations were over $250 (I did about $145 twice a month), so maybe they're not technically required to provide a statement in my case? But I might take your advice about just asking them to email it to have both records. That seems like the path of least resistance.

You're right that the $250 requirement is per individual donation, not the annual total. If all your individual donations were under $250, they're not legally required to provide a statement, though many churches do it as a courtesy for all donors. Email is definitely the easiest option if they continue to contact you. Just a quick "please email it to this address" response should suffice without getting into any explanations about why you're not attending anymore. The Tithe.ly records are still perfectly valid for your taxes either way.

That could potentially be an issue. The IRS wants to know the specific organization that received your donation. If the parent denomination and your local church are separate legal entities with different EINs, you should use the correct one on your tax return. Contact Tithe.ly support about this - they may be able to correct your statement. If not, you might need to get the statement from your church after all, or at least confirm which entity actually received your donations and which EIN to use.