Section 170(f)(8) of the Internal Revenue Code states that “no deduction shall be allowed for any contribution of $250 or more unless the taxpayer substantiates the contribution by a contemporaneous written acknowledgment of the contribution by the donee organization”. To help donors comply with this section of the code, the parish should send a notice to anyone making one or more contributions of $250. A sample notice is provided at the bottom of the page.

The notice must contain the following information: 

1. The amount of cash and a description (but not value) of any property other than cash contributed.
2. Whether the parish provided any goods or services in return for the contributions mentioned in item 1.
3. A description and good faith estimate of the value of any goods or services the parish provided under item 2. If the goods or services provide consist solely of intangible religious benefits, that should be so stated.

For standard contributions, items 2 and 3 can be satisfied with a statement like this:

<Name of organization> did not provide any goods or services in whole or partial consideration for these contributions or provided only intangible religious benefits.

This acknowledgment should be sent out by January 31 of the year following the contribution. 

Note that this applies only to a “contribution of $250 or more”. If you have a donor who gives $249 every Sunday, you are not required to provide this notice because they never gave a contribution of $250 or more. But if you have someone who gives a one-time contribution of $250, you would have to provide that person with a notice.