Who gets the credit?

Stacey Brake
Stacey Brake
Seventh Anniversary Kudos 2 Name Dropper Participant
in Organizational Best Practices General Discussions
I am trying to find an answer to this question:  If an individual makes a donation on behalf of their employer company but they use their own personal credit card or check, who gets the credit and the tax receipt?  I have been giving the hard credit (and the tax receipt) to the actual donor and a soft-credit to the company with a gift note added to the gift record. I'm trying to follow IRS guidelines but I can't find an answer to this specific scenario.  Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!  

Comments

  • JoAnn Strommen
    JoAnn Strommen Community All-Star
    Tenth Anniversary Kudos 5 January 2026 Monthly Challenge 2025 bbcon Attendee Badge
    Does your org have an auditor or legal advisor you can check with? 


    With a credit card, you almost have to know account ownership.  I had a card with my name on but account actually was owned by the university. They paid the bill but it would have looked like my donation.


    Just an opinion:

    If you know card is their personal card, I'd receipt individual with HC.

    If check account was in the individual's name with no reference to company, I'd say individual gets the HC and receipt. They may be putting in for reimbursement from the company but that's their responsibility for tax reporting.


    If it's a common issue for you I would certainly check with my auditor.
  • Kelli Everett
    Kelli Everett
    Eighth Anniversary Kudos 1 Name Dropper Participant
    Credit goes to the person who issues the funds. So if they wrote a personal check the company would not eligible to claim any tax deduction. 
  • Jolene Holswich
    Jolene Holswich
    Seventh Anniversary Kudos 1 Name Dropper Participant
    If in doubt, contact the person who made the donation and ask "to whom should I receipt this donation?". 
  • Heather Pauli
    Heather Pauli
    Ninth Anniversary Kudos 5 January 2026 Monthly Challenge Name Dropper
    I issue the tax receipt to the name and address on the check or paperwork submitted with the donation (or definitely ask the donor how the receipt should be issued if it's a phoned-in gift,) unless they specify it should be issued otherwise, then I make note of the alternate donor information provided at the time of the donation entry. It will be up to the donor to substantiate their gift with the IRS if they get audited, I just make sure I have a note of why the gift is recorded in an alternate manner if I was instructed to do so.

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