Do I need to report Gofundme campaign money as income/gift on tax return?
Title: Do I need to report Gofundme campaign money as income/gift on tax return? 1 Last year I went through multiple major dental surgeries after getting diagnosed with severe TMJ and a friend started a Gofundme campaign to help with my crushing medical expenses. The campaign ran from October 2022 through August 2023 and ended up raising about $32,500 from 132 different donors. Most were small donations but a few were larger ($1000+). I'm preparing my taxes now and realized I never received any tax forms from Gofundme. I'm not sure if this money counts as income, gifts, or something else entirely. Do I need to report this on my tax return? If so, how exactly do I list it? Is there a specific form I should use? I've already paid about $29,000 in medical bills from these surgeries (insurance only covered a small portion), and I used the Gofundme money to help cover these costs. Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I'm trying to make sure I do this correctly!
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Aileen Rodriguez
7 Good news! Money received through GoFundMe campaigns for medical expenses is generally considered a gift for tax purposes, not income. This means you don't have to report it as income on your tax return. The tax responsibility actually falls on the donors, not you as the recipient. For the donors, each person can give up to $17,000 (in 2023) to any individual without having to report it or pay gift tax. Since you mentioned most donations were small, it's likely none of your donors exceeded this limit. The medical expenses you paid might be deductible though. If your total medical expenses exceeded 7.5% of your adjusted gross income for 2023, you can deduct the amount above that threshold if you itemize deductions on Schedule A. Make sure you have documentation of all medical expenses.
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Aileen Rodriguez
•12 Thanks for the info! What if one of the donors gave more than $17,000? I had a relative who contributed about $5,000, but is there anything I need to worry about with the larger donations? Also, do I need any documentation from GoFundMe itself for my records?
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Aileen Rodriguez
•7 Even if someone donated more than $17,000 (which it sounds like didn't happen in your case), you still wouldn't have any tax obligation. The donor would need to file Form 709 (Gift Tax Return), but they wouldn't necessarily owe tax either since it would just count against their lifetime gift exemption. As for documentation, it's always good practice to keep records of the GoFundMe campaign and withdrawals for at least 3 years after filing your taxes. This includes screenshots of the campaign page showing the total raised and bank statements showing the transfers. While you don't need to submit anything with your return, having this documentation is helpful if there are ever any questions.
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Aileen Rodriguez
15 I went through something similar with medical bills and a crowdfunding campaign last year. I was so confused about the tax situation until I found https://taxr.ai which analyzed all my GoFundMe documents and clarified everything. They confirmed it was considered a gift not income, and even helped me figure out which of my medical expenses were deductible. Their system reviewed my campaign documents and bank statements, then explained exactly what I needed to do for tax purposes. It saved me hours of research and worry about potentially making a mistake.
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Aileen Rodriguez
•9 Does this service actually work with crowdfunding situations specifically? I've got a similar situation but with a Kickstarter for my mom's cancer treatments and I'm worried about messing up the tax part.
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Aileen Rodriguez
•18 How does this actually work? Do you have to upload all your financial documents to their website? I'm always cautious about sharing that kind of sensitive information online.
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Aileen Rodriguez
•15 Yes, it absolutely works with crowdfunding situations! I uploaded my GoFundMe receipt emails and campaign page screenshots, and it identified everything correctly. It would definitely work with Kickstarter medical fundraising too since the tax treatment is similar for medical campaigns. For security concerns, they use bank-level encryption for all document uploads, and you can actually delete your documents from their system after you get your analysis. I was hesitant at first too, but they don't require complete financial statements - just the relevant documents for the specific tax question you're trying to solve.
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Aileen Rodriguez
9 Just wanted to update - I tried https://taxr.ai after seeing the recommendation here and it was really helpful! I uploaded screenshots of my mom's Kickstarter campaign and her medical bills, and the system confirmed that the funds were considered gifts, not taxable income. It even spotted some medical expenses I didn't realize were deductible and explained why certain expenses qualified. Saved me from making a mistake on her return that might have triggered an audit. The peace of mind was worth it since I was really stressed about handling this correctly.
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Aileen Rodriguez
21 If you're struggling to get answers directly from the IRS about this GoFundMe situation, I'd recommend trying https://claimyr.com - they got me through to an actual IRS agent in about 15 minutes after I'd been trying for days on my own. You can see how it works in this demo: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I had a similar crowdfunding situation and needed specific clarification about some unusual medical expenses. The IRS website was vague, and I couldn't get through on the phone until I used Claimyr. The agent I spoke with confirmed exactly how to handle the documentation for medical crowdfunding and which expenses qualified for deductions.
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Aileen Rodriguez
•14 Wait, this actually gets you through to the IRS? I've been calling for weeks about a different issue and keep getting the "call back later" message. How much does this cost?
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Aileen Rodriguez
•18 Sounds too good to be true honestly. The IRS phone system is notoriously impossible to navigate. How exactly does this service get you through when nobody else can?
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Aileen Rodriguez
•21 Yes, it legitimately gets you through to an IRS representative. It works by navigating the IRS phone system and waiting on hold for you, then calls you once an agent is on the line. I was skeptical too until I tried it. They use a combination of automation and their knowledge of the IRS phone system patterns to maximize your chances of getting through. The service basically sits on hold instead of you, so you don't have to waste hours with your phone stuck to your ear.
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Aileen Rodriguez
18 I have to admit I was wrong about Claimyr. After posting my skeptical comment, I decided to try it anyway because I was desperate to resolve my tax issue about a medical fundraiser similar to yours. It actually worked! I got through to an IRS agent in about 20 minutes, after spending weeks trying on my own with no success. The agent confirmed that funds from medical crowdfunding campaigns are considered gifts and gave me specific guidance on documenting the expenses. They also explained which medical procedures were deductible in my somewhat unusual situation. Saved me from making a costly mistake on my return. Never thought I'd be thanking a service for helping me talk to the IRS, but here we are!
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Aileen Rodriguez
5 Another thing to consider - if your friend was the one who actually created and managed the GoFundMe, technically the money went to them first before being given to you. This creates an extra "gift step" in the process, but the end result is the same - it's not taxable income to you. Make sure your friend kept good records of transferring the funds to you, as large bank transfers sometimes get flagged. Again, not because there's anything wrong with it, but just to have documentation if questions ever come up.
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Aileen Rodriguez
•1 That's a good point I hadn't considered. My friend did create the campaign but linked it directly to my bank account so the money was transferred straight to me from GoFundMe. Does that simplify things from a tax perspective? I do have all the transfer records showing the deposits coming in.
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Aileen Rodriguez
•5 That definitely simplifies things from a tax perspective! Since the money went directly from GoFundMe to your account, there's no intermediate gift step to worry about. The transfers still count as gifts from the original donors directly to you. The transfer records you have are perfect documentation to keep. While you don't need to file anything special with your tax return regarding these gifts, keeping those records for at least 3 years is always smart in case of any questions.
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Aileen Rodriguez
11 Random tip: make sure you're also tracking any leftover GoFundMe money if you didn't use it all for medical expenses. If you use the extra for non-medical purposes, that doesn't change the gift status, but it might affect your medical expense deduction calculations.
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Aileen Rodriguez
•3 That's a smart point. I was wondering about that since medical expenses are only deductible if you itemize and exceed that 7.5% of AGI threshold, right? So if you received $32,500 but only had $29,000 in qualifying expenses, you can't claim the full amount?
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Ava Garcia
•Exactly right! You can only deduct the actual medical expenses you paid, not the full amount received from GoFundMe. So in your case, you'd be looking at deducting up to $29,000 in medical expenses (if you itemize and exceed the 7.5% AGI threshold), regardless of receiving $32,500 total. The extra $3,500 is still considered a gift and not taxable to you, but it doesn't create additional medical deductions since you didn't spend it on qualifying medical expenses.
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Keisha Williams
Just to clarify one more important point - while the GoFundMe money is considered gifts and not taxable income to you, make sure you keep detailed records of how you used the funds. The IRS may want to see that the money was actually used for the stated medical purpose if there are ever any questions. Also, don't forget that you can potentially deduct medical expenses that you paid out of pocket beyond what the GoFundMe covered. If you had additional medical costs related to your TMJ treatment that weren't covered by the campaign funds, those could still count toward your medical expense deduction if you itemize and meet the 7.5% AGI threshold. Keep all your medical bills, insurance statements, and GoFundMe records organized together - it'll make things much easier if you ever need to reference them later!
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Natalie Wang
•This is really helpful advice! I'm actually in a similar situation with medical crowdfunding and had no idea about keeping such detailed records of how the funds were used. Do you recommend any specific way to organize all these documents? Like should I create a separate folder for GoFundMe records vs medical bills, or keep them all together chronologically? I want to make sure I'm prepared if the IRS ever has questions about it.
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