Skip to main content

Three Things to be Aware of When Establishing Online Giving Procedures

By
Question:
What items does our 501(c)(3) organization need to be aware of when establishing online giving procedures?

Answer: 
When a 501(c)(3) organization establishes online giving procedures, they should keep the following three points in mind:

1) Charitable contributions through an online merchant system should be recorded as the gross amount, not the net amount, when providing charitable giving receipts. 

For example, Joe Smith decides to donate $100 to ABC Organization, a non-profit organization, through the use of PayPal. PayPal will charge ABC Organization a processing fee of 2.9% ($2.90) for receiving the funds. Although ABC's net amount received is $97.10, Joe Smith should receive record of a deductible donation of $100. 

2) Contribution receipts should clearly meet IRS requirements. 

The following links will lead you to blog posts that relate to IRS requirements for contribution receipts:

Church Official Statements of Annual Giving

MinistryCPA Special Topic: What Does "Quid Pro Quo" Mean?

Also, read IRS Publication 1771 for more requirements of contribution receipts.

3) The 501(c)(3) organization must maintain discretion and control over all contributions. 

It is important that the non-profit organization maintain full control of the donated funds and practice discretion as to their use to ensure that the funds will be used to carry out the organization's functions and purposes. 

Accordingly, the organization may endeavor to honor donors' wishes that designate use of donated funds. However, the organization must maintain control over the ultimate determination of how all donated funds are allocated. Contributions become the property of the charity, and the charity has the discretion to determine how best to use all contributions to carry out its functions and purposes. 

According to IRS Publication 526, "Charitable contributions must be made to or for the use of a qualified organization in order to be deductible." If a contribution is made directly to an individual, it is not deductible. For example, if payments are made directly to individual missionaries, ministers, etc., the contribution is not deductible. 

The organization should also avoid becoming a conduit of funds. Read our blog posts on the matter:

Church as a Conduit for Non-Deductible Gifts

Church as a Conduit for Non-Deductible Gifts: Illustration

Unsolicited, Unilateral Gifts Directed to Individuals





Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Rental of a Church Parsonage to a Non-Minister

By
Question: A church owns a parsonage, but the pastor does not use it as he owns his own home. The church rents the parsonage to a tenant other than a minister or employee of the church. Will the church be responsible for paying income tax on these monies as Unrelated Business Income (filing a Form 990-T) even if the money is used to carry on the business of the church? Answer: Whether the money is used for church purposes is irrelevant.  IRS Publication 598  states: "If an exempt organization regularly carries on a trade or business not substantially related to its exempt purpose, except that it provides funds to carry out that purpose, the organization is subject to tax on its income from that unrelated trade or business." Fortunately, in the case of rental income from real property, such income is "excluded in computing unrelated business taxable income" (Publication 598). Caution: see content below regarding debt-financed property.  However, a second concern not a...
Post a Comment
Read more

How can my ministry expenses be covered by the church?

By
     How can my ministry expenses be covered?                            Many ministers use their personal autos for ministry purposes. Their employers can reimburse these costs using a standard mileage rate published by the IRS. The per mile rate represents employees’ entire reimbursable cost other than highway tolls and parking tabs. If not covered by use of the ministries’ credit card, other costs can be reimbursed as well—business and travel meals, lodging, office supplies, and professional library purchases among them. Some ministries reimburse travel costs using per-diems published by the IRS. If employee business expenses are not reimbursed, the personal tax deduction benefit to the individual minister is severely limited. Non-taxable reimbursements after documentation is provided to the employer follows IRS rules for accountable plans. Non-taxable cash advances before expenses are in...
Post a Comment
Read more

What is the best retirement account for a Minister?

By
       What are my options for retirement savings?                  Regardless of options, start now! You probably have learned about traditional and Roth IRAs. We have often found them well short of the benefits we will share here regarding Internal Revenue Code section 403(b) plans. These plans must be established by your employer (although you might need to be the initiator). They are funded in two ways—withholding from your paycheck at your option (called “elective deferrals”) and as initiated by the employer (matching or non-elective contributions). These contributions not only save income tax, but they also reduce the income you must report as subject to the 15.3% SECA tax. Further, at retirement with the cooperation of your church or Christian ministry the distributions to you can be tax-free to the extent of your qualified housing expenses. Many ministries also adopt what are often called “FICA alternative” be...
Post a Comment
Read more