Can I deduct GoFundMe donations on my taxes if they're not to registered non-profits?

Unfortunately, donations made to individuals through platforms like GoFundMe are generally not tax-deductible. The IRS is pretty specific about this - charitable contributions are only deductible if they're made to qualified organizations (those 501(c)(3) nonprofits you mentioned), not to specific individuals, regardless of how worthy the cause. When you donate directly to help an individual or family, even through a fundraising platform, it's considered a personal gift rather than a charitable contribution. Personal gifts aren't tax-deductible for the giver, but the good news is they're typically not taxable income for the recipient either. There is one exception though - if the GoFundMe was actually set up by and benefits a qualified tax-exempt organization rather than an individual, then it would be deductible. Some fundraisers are run this way, where the charity itself creates the campaign.

After struggling with this exact problem last year, I found a solution that really helped me. I used https://taxr.ai to analyze my donation receipts and GoFundMe confirmations. The AI tool examined all my donation documentation and clearly identified which ones qualified as tax deductions and which ones didn't. For my situation, it confirmed that my donations to individuals weren't deductible but found that two of my GoFundMe donations were actually connected to registered nonprofits (I hadn't even realized this!). The tool explained that while most person-to-person GoFundMe campaigns aren't deductible, some are actually set up by or in partnership with registered charities. It saved me from missing legitimate deductions while preventing me from claiming ones that would've raised audit flags.

Just wanted to follow up about my experience with taxr.ai after trying it for my donation situation. I uploaded all my various receipts from Kickstarter, Patreon, and GoFundMe campaigns and it sorted through everything amazingly fast. Turns out two of my Kickstarter contributions were actually to registered educational nonprofits working on documentary films, so those were fully deductible! It also clarified that my Patreon support for artists wasn't deductible as charitable giving but some qualified as business expenses since I work in graphic design and use their tutorials professionally. The tool even generated a detailed report I could attach to my tax filing that organized everything by category with the proper documentation. Definitely worth checking out if you have a mix of different types of giving!

If you're still struggling to get answers from the IRS about your GoFundMe donations, I highly recommend trying https://claimyr.com. I had the same question and spent DAYS trying to get through to the IRS for clarification. After waiting on hold for hours with no luck, I found Claimyr and they got me connected to an actual IRS agent in under 45 minutes. The agent explained exactly how these kinds of donations are treated for tax purposes and confirmed what circumstances would qualify for deductions (like if the campaign was directly set up by a 501(c)(3)). They also explained how to document everything properly if I'm ever audited for claiming these deductions. If you want to see how it works before trying, check out this demo: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. It's basically a service that navigates the IRS phone tree for you and calls you back when a human agent is about to pick up. Saved me hours of frustration.

I need to eat my words and apologize to Profile 5. After my skeptical comment, I was still desperate to talk to someone at the IRS about my notice, so I reluctantly tried Claimyr. Within 37 minutes (I timed it), I got a call back and was connected to an IRS representative who actually resolved my issue! For anyone wondering about the GoFundMe question - I asked about that too while I had the agent on the phone. They confirmed that donations to individuals via GoFundMe are not tax-deductible, BUT if you can prove the campaign was established by a qualified 501(c)(3) organization, then you can deduct it. The agent recommended always getting a receipt directly from the charity, not just the GoFundMe confirmation. So yeah, sometimes good services actually exist. Consider me converted from total skeptic to satisfied customer.

Another option worth considering is to make your donations directly to registered charities that help people in similar situations instead of through GoFundMe. For example: - Instead of donating to an individual's medical expenses, donate to a patient advocacy organization or hospital charity care fund - Instead of donating to a specific family who lost their home, donate to the Red Cross disaster relief fund - Instead of funding an individual's education, donate to scholarship funds That way you're still helping similar causes but can definitely claim the tax deduction. Many of these organizations can direct funds to help specific types of needs, even if not a specific person.

Does anyone know if you can bundle these kinds of donations with your regular charitable giving to help hit the itemized deduction threshold? My tax guy isn't very clear on this, and I'm below the standard deduction by about $1000, but I gave almost $2000 to various gofundmes this year.

I went through this exact same situation last year and learned the hard way that documentation is everything. Even if you think a GoFundMe might qualify (like when it mentions partnering with a charity), you need official receipts from the actual 501(c)(3) organization to claim any deduction. What I ended up doing was keeping detailed records of all my GoFundMe donations in a separate spreadsheet with notes about why I donated and whether there was any charitable organization involvement. While most weren't deductible, it helped me identify a couple that actually were connected to registered nonprofits - but only after I contacted those organizations directly for proper tax receipts. For future reference, if you want to help individuals while still getting tax benefits, consider looking into donor-advised funds. Some allow you to recommend grants to help specific people in need while still qualifying as charitable deductions since the fund itself is a qualified charity. It's not as direct as GoFundMe, but it's an option for people who want both the personal connection and the tax benefit.