Can I claim tax deductions on money gifted to me specifically for donation purposes?

This is actually a bit of a gray area, but leaning toward "okay" based on how gift and donation tax laws work. Here's why: When your relatives give you money, it's a gift to you personally - they can give up to $18,000 per person (2025 annual gift exclusion) without filing gift tax forms. Once that money is yours, you can do whatever you want with it, including donating it to charity. The key thing is that there shouldn't be a legally binding requirement that you donate the money. If they gave it to you with no strings attached (legally speaking), and you then choose to donate it, that's within the rules. The fact that there's an "understanding" is where it gets a bit murky. The IRS cares about the substance of transactions, not just their form. If your relatives are essentially using you as a conduit solely to get a tax benefit they couldn't get directly, an auditor might question it. That said, this is a relatively common family practice and not something the IRS typically targets. To be safer, I'd suggest waiting some time between receiving the gift and making the donation, and perhaps not matching the exact amount. This helps establish that it was truly your decision.

After struggling with a similar situation last year, I found this amazing tool called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that really helped clear things up. My sister and I support the same environmental nonprofit, and we were trying to figure out if we could consolidate our donations through me since I itemize. The taxr.ai system analyzed my specific situation and showed me exactly what documentation I needed to keep to stay compliant. It reviewed all our previous donation records and gift exchanges and flagged potential issues I hadn't even considered. What I really liked was how it gave me personalized guidance based on actual tax court cases about similar donation arrangements. It ended up saving me from making a mistake that could have raised red flags with the IRS. Definitely worth checking out if you're dealing with complex donation scenarios like this.

I wanted to follow up after trying taxr.ai that was mentioned here. I was super skeptical at first (as you could probably tell from my comment), but I decided to give it a shot since I was in a similar situation with my brother wanting to "gift" me money for donations. Have to admit I was really impressed. The system flagged that I needed to keep specific documentation showing the money was truly gifted to me without restrictions. It also recommended I keep the funds in my account for at least 21 days before donating to establish "dominion and control" over the money - something I never would have known. It gave me a customized checklist of documentation to maintain and even showed the specific IRS regulations that applied to my situation. Definitely changed my approach to this whole arrangement and made me feel much more confident about doing it properly.

If you're having trouble getting a clear answer on this, you might want to try getting direct confirmation from the IRS. I was in tax limbo last year with a question about donation timing and couldn't get through to anyone for weeks. Then I found this service called Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) that got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 15 minutes instead of waiting on hold for hours. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - basically they use some tech to hold your place in line and call you when they reach an agent. I asked the agent directly about a family donation situation similar to yours and got official clarification that put my mind at ease. For something in a gray area like this, getting the official word directly from the IRS might be worth it rather than wondering if you're doing the right thing.

I need to eat my words from my previous comment. After another frustrating morning trying to get through to the IRS about my audit (was on hold for 97 minutes before being disconnected), I decided to try Claimyr out of desperation. I'm honestly shocked at how well it worked. Within 20 minutes I was talking to an actual IRS representative. I've been trying for MONTHS to get this resolved. The agent was able to access my file and explain exactly what documentation I needed to submit to close my case. For what it's worth, I also asked about this donation/gift scenario out of curiosity since I saw this thread. The agent said it's generally acceptable as long as the money is truly gifted with no legal obligation to donate it. They recommended keeping clear documentation of the gift separate from the donation and said having different amounts and dates helps establish they're separate transactions.

Another approach to consider: have your relatives contribute to a donor-advised fund in their name, then grant the money to the charity. They can bunch multiple years of donations together to exceed the standard deduction threshold in one year, itemize that year, then take the standard deduction in subsequent years. This is actually more tax-efficient than your proposed arrangement because they get the direct tax benefit rather than passing it through you. My family has been doing this for years to maximize our charitable deductions while still taking advantage of the higher standard deduction.

I think people are overthinking this. I've been doing exactly what you described with my sister for years with no issues. She gifts me money, I donate it, I get the deduction. We keep it simple - she writes "gift" in the memo line of the check, I deposit it in my account, and I make the donation later. The IRS doesn't have mind-reading abilities to know your "intention." As long as it's properly documented as a gift to you, what you later choose to do with your money is your business. The tax code is designed to encourage charitable giving. Using legitimate methods to maximize deductions is just smart tax planning, not evasion.