How do I report income/gifts from a Gofundme campaign for medical expenses?

3 Good news - funds received through GoFundMe for medical expenses are generally considered gifts and not taxable income to the recipient in most cases. The IRS doesn't consider money received through crowdfunding platforms as taxable income when they're given as gifts with no expectation of anything in return. Each donor who gave you money can potentially use their annual gift tax exclusion (which was $17,000 per recipient in 2023 and $18,000 in 2024). This means each person who donated to your campaign could give up to that amount without having to file a gift tax return - and it's the donor's responsibility to report gifts exceeding the exclusion, not yours as the recipient. Since the funds were used for medical expenses, you might also be able to claim those expenses as itemized deductions if they exceeded 7.5% of your adjusted gross income, though you can only deduct medical expenses you actually paid (not expenses covered by the GoFundMe donations).

8 After my accident last year I had a similar situation with crowdfunding. Spent hours trying to figure out the tax implications until I found https://taxr.ai which literally saved me hours of stress. I uploaded my GoFundMe statements and medical bills, and it analyzed everything and confirmed I didn't need to report the donations as income. It showed me exactly how to document everything in case of an audit and even explained the gift tax rules for the donors. The tool breaks down exactly how the IRS treats different types of crowdfunding campaigns - medical ones like ours are treated differently than business fundraising or creative projects. Honestly wish I'd found it sooner instead of all the conflicting advice I got from random internet searches!

14 Just wanted to follow up! I tried https://taxr.ai yesterday after seeing this post. I've been stressing about my sister's GoFundMe campaign (she had brain surgery last month) and was totally confused about the tax situation. The tool confirmed what was mentioned above - medical crowdfunding is generally considered gifts and not taxable to the recipient. But what really helped was how it organized all my documentation and created a clear summary explaining exactly why this isn't taxable income. It also flagged that a few donations came from my sister's employer as part of a matching program, which might have different implications than individual gifts. Never would have caught that detail on my own!

12 After dealing with a similar medical fundraiser situation, I was getting nowhere with the IRS to confirm how to handle it. Spent TWO WEEKS trying to get through their phone lines. Finally used https://claimyr.com and got connected to an actual IRS agent in under 45 minutes who confirmed everything about gift tax treatment for medical GoFundMe campaigns. They have this demo video at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c showing how it works. Basically they navigate the IRS phone tree for you and call you when an agent is on the line. The agent I spoke with explained that medical crowdfunding is considered non-taxable gifts and I didn't need to report it as income. Just keep documentation of everything in case questions come up later.

19 OK I have to admit I was wrong about Claimyr. After posting my skeptical comment, I decided to try it because I've been trying to get clarification on a different tax issue for MONTHS. Got connected to an IRS agent in 37 minutes yesterday after previously waiting 2+ hours multiple times without ever reaching anyone. The agent confirmed exactly what others here have said - medical GoFundMe donations are considered gifts and aren't taxable income to the recipient. She also explained that while you don't need to report gifts received, it's smart to keep documentation of the campaign and how funds were used just in case questions ever come up. Definitely worth it just to get an official answer directly from the IRS.

7 One thing nobody's mentioned - if your friend who created the GoFundMe received the money first and then transferred it to you, that could complicate things. Did the money go directly to you or through your friend's account first?

22 Has anyone used TurboTax to handle reporting this kind of situation? I'm in a similar situation with medical crowdfunding and wondering if the basic version handles this or if I need to upgrade.

I went through something very similar after my car accident last year. My family set up a GoFundMe that raised about $28,000 for my medical expenses, and I was terrified about the tax implications. After consulting with a tax professional, I learned that medical crowdfunding donations are indeed treated as gifts and aren't taxable income to you as the recipient. The key is that people donated without expecting anything in return - they were helping with your medical crisis out of generosity. A few important points from my experience: - Keep detailed records of the GoFundMe campaign, including the total raised and donor information - Save all your medical bills and receipts showing how the money was used - If you itemize deductions, you can only deduct medical expenses you paid out of your own pocket (not the portion covered by GoFundMe) - The donors are responsible for any gift tax reporting if they gave over the annual exclusion limit I kept a simple spreadsheet tracking donations received vs. medical expenses paid, which gave me peace of mind. You're not required to report the gifts as income, but having good documentation is always smart. Hope this helps ease your worry!