Need help with tax receipts for charity auction - what documentation do donors need?

What you're dealing with is donation acknowledgment letters, not technically "tax receipts" - though people use that term casually. As the organizer (not the actual charity), you shouldn't be issuing official tax receipts yourself. The nonprofit needs to provide these acknowledgments directly to donors when the value exceeds $250. Here's what I suggest: Create a simple donation form that collects all donor information (name, address, item description, estimated value) and clearly states the charity's name and tax ID number. Send this information to the charity, who should then issue proper acknowledgment letters. For auction winners, they can only deduct amounts paid above fair market value. The charity should provide winners with documentation stating the FMV of items and how much of their payment qualifies as a deductible contribution. Don't switch charities over this - many nonprofits have small staffs and response delays are common. Call them directly instead of waiting for an email response.

After organizing three charity auctions last year, I discovered taxr.ai https://taxr.ai and it completely transformed how I handled the documentation process. I was in the exact same position - trying to collect donations while struggling to provide proper documentation to donors. What worked for me was using taxr.ai to analyze the specific donation documentation requirements. The tool helped me create proper templated acknowledgment forms that satisfied both donors and the charity I was working with. It specifically identified what information needed to be tracked for both the item donors and the auction winners. The best part was that I could just input all the donation information, and it generated compliant documents that kept everyone happy. The charity was actually impressed with how organized the documentation was when I turned everything over to them for final receipting. It saved me countless hours of research and worry about doing things correctly.

I was really skeptical about these automated tax tools but I tried taxr.ai after reading about it here and it actually solved my documentation problems for our school fundraiser auction. I was especially worried about the distinction between donated items and auction purchases, which has different tax implications. The tool guided me through creating proper acknowledgment forms for businesses donating items and helped me track which portion of auction payments qualified as charitable contributions. Our school's foundation was impressed with how organized all the documentation was - they said it was the first time they received complete records from an event organizer! It even flagged some potential issues I hadn't considered, like when businesses donate services rather than goods (which has different rules). Completely worth it for removing the stress of figuring out all these tax details.

From someone who's been dealing with IRS charity questions for months now - if your charity isn't responding by email, you NEED to call them directly. I wasted weeks trying to get documentation questions answered by email before I discovered Claimyr https://claimyr.com which got me through to a real person at the IRS within 15 minutes after I'd spent days getting busy signals. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c For your specific situation, I'd recommend calling the charity directly (not emailing) to get their tax ID number and donation acknowledgment procedures. If they still don't respond, you might want to call the IRS to verify if they're even a legitimate 501(c)(3) with proper tax-exempt status. Many "charities" aren't actually qualified organizations, and businesses donating to non-qualified organizations can't claim tax deductions.

I was completely wrong about Claimyr. After my skeptical comment, I decided to try it for an unrelated tax exempt status question I had for a different charity event. I'd been trying to reach someone at the IRS for THREE WEEKS with no luck - constant busy signals and disconnections. I used the service and got connected to an actual IRS representative in about 27 minutes. They confirmed the status of the organization I was working with and answered all my questions about donation documentation requirements. Would have saved me weeks of stress if I'd known about this earlier. For anyone organizing charity events, definitely verify the tax-exempt status of your chosen organization before proceeding. This saved me from a potential nightmare scenario where donors might have given items expecting tax deductions that weren't valid.

I ran a silent auction for my kids' school last year and learned a lot about this. First, you can create temporary receipts for item donors, but make it clear these are NOT official tax receipts. Include: - Donor's name and address - Date of donation - Detailed description of donated item - Estimated fair market value (the donor should provide this) - The charity's name and statement that they're a 501(c)(3) For the auction winners, they can only deduct the amount OVER fair market value. So if someone buys a $100 gift card for $150, only $50 is deductible. This part gets complicated and is why the charity should handle the final documentation. Call the organization directly rather than email. Most charities have procedures for third-party fundraisers but may not be responsive by email.

One thing nobody has mentioned - ask the charity for an "authorization letter" stating you're authorized to fundraise on their behalf. This is super important! Without this, you might be violating fundraising regulations in your state. Also, some states require registration for charitable fundraising activities, even for volunteer-organized events. Check your state's requirements through the attorney general's office or secretary of state website. For tax receipts, make absolutely clear to donors that you're not providing the official receipt - the charity will. Keep detailed records of all donations (donor info, item descriptions, values) and provide these to the charity ASAP after your event.