Substantiating a Charitable Deduction: Receipts, Form 8283, and Appraisals

What records do I need to deduct a charitable donation?

It depends on the kind and size of the gift. Any gift of money needs a bank record or a written communication from the charity (IRC § 170(f)(17)). Any contribution of $250 or more needs a contemporaneous written acknowledgment from the charity (§ 170(f)(8)). Noncash gifts need Form 8283 when the deduction is more than $500, and a qualified appraisal when it is more than $5,000, with exceptions (§ 170(f)(11)). These dollar amounts are fixed in the statute.

The requirement comes from the first paragraph of the deduction itself: a charitable contribution is allowable “only if verified under regulations prescribed by the Secretary” (§ 170(a)(1)). The specific rules use the same phrase each time: “No deduction shall be allowed” unless the record exists.

Requirements by gift size

Sources: IRC § 170(f)(8), (f)(11), (f)(12), and (f)(17); Treas. Reg. § 1.170A-15 (money); § 1.170A-16 (property); § 1.170A-17 (appraisals). The $250 row applies to money and property alike. Property thresholds are measured by the deduction claimed.

For money, a bank record includes a statement from a financial institution, an electronic fund transfer receipt, a canceled check, or a credit card statement, and a written communication includes email (§ 1.170A-15(b)). A single document can satisfy both the money rule and the $250 rule if it contains everything both require.

Where a receipt for property under $250 is impracticable to obtain, as with an unattended drop site, the donor may keep reliable written records instead (§ 1.170A-16(a)(2)).

Similar items are counted together. In measuring the property thresholds, an item and all similar items donated to one or more charities are treated as one property (§ 170(f)(11)(F)).

The written acknowledgment

For a contribution of $250 or more, the acknowledgment must come from the charity and must state three things (§ 170(f)(8)(B)):

• the amount of cash, and a description, but not the value, of any property other than cash;
• whether the charity provided any goods or services in consideration for the gift; and
• a description and good-faith estimate of the value of those goods or services, or, if they consist solely of intangible religious benefits, a statement to that effect.

It is “contemporaneous” if the donor obtains it on or before the earlier of the date the return for the year of the gift is filed, or the due date of that return, including extensions (§ 170(f)(8)(C)). An acknowledgment obtained after that date does not meet the definition.

The $250 test is applied gift by gift. Separate contributions of less than $250 are not subject to the rule even if they total $250 or more to one charity in a year, and one acknowledgment may cover several gifts (Treas. Reg. § 1.170A-13(f)(1)). IRS Publication 1771 adds that an annual summary may be used and that the donor’s Social Security number does not need to appear.

A contribution to a donor-advised fund needs one more statement: an acknowledgment from the sponsoring organization that it has exclusive legal control over the assets contributed (§ 170(f)(18)(B)). See bunching and donor-advised fund timing.

Goods or services received

A payment made partly as a gift and partly for something in return is a quid pro quo contribution. When such a payment exceeds $75, the charity must give the donor a written statement that the deductible amount is limited to the excess of what was paid over the value of the goods or services, with a good-faith estimate of that value (IRC § 6115). Publication 1771 gives the example of a $100 payment for a concert ticket worth $40: the deduction may not exceed $60.

The disclosure is the charity’s obligation. The $250 acknowledgment is the donor’s, and it must address goods or services in every case, including a statement that none were provided.

The regulations disregard some benefits (§ 1.170A-13(f)(8)):

• goods or services of insubstantial value under IRS guidelines; and
• certain annual membership benefits offered for a payment of $75 or less a year, such as free or discounted admission or parking.

Form 8283

Form 8283, Noncash Charitable Contributions, is attached to the return when the total deduction for all contributed property is over $500. The revision in use is dated December 2025, with instructions of the same date. It has two sections.

• Section A covers items, or groups of similar items, for which the deduction is $5,000 or less. It also covers publicly traded securities, certain intellectual property, qualified vehicles with the required acknowledgment, and inventory, whatever the amount. It asks for the charity’s name and address, a description of the property, the date of the gift, the date and manner of acquisition, the donor’s cost or adjusted basis, the fair market value, and the method used to find it.
• Section B covers items, or groups of similar items, for which the deduction is more than $5,000 and that are not reportable in Section A. It includes a Declaration of Appraiser (Part IV) and a Donee Acknowledgment (Part V).

For publicly traded securities held more than one year, the regulations relax two Section A items: a statement that the donor held the securities more than one year replaces the acquisition date, and cost or basis is not required unless the donor has elected to limit the deduction to basis (§ 1.170A-16(c)(3)(iv)). Gifts of stock are covered on the appreciated stock page.

The charity’s signature in Part V has a limited meaning. It acknowledges receipt of the property on the date stated. It “does not represent concurrence in the appraised value” (§ 1.170A-16(d)(5)(ii)). On the form, the charity also affirms that it will file Form 8282 if it disposes of the property within three years.

The form follows the deduction into later years. The same filing requirements apply to the return for any carryover year (§ 1.170A-16(f)(3)).

The qualified appraisal

A qualified appraisal is one conducted by a qualified appraiser in accordance with generally accepted appraisal standards (§ 170(f)(11)(E)(i)). The regulation defines those standards as the substance and principles of the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (§ 1.170A-17(a)(2)). It also sets these conditions:

• Timing. The appraisal must be signed and dated no earlier than 60 days before the contribution and no later than the due date, including extensions, of the return on which the deduction is first claimed. If the deduction is first claimed on an amended return, the limit is the date that return is filed (§ 1.170A-17(a)(4)).
• Contents. A description of the property, its condition if it is real or tangible personal property, the valuation date and the fair market value on that date, the terms of any agreement about the property’s use or sale, the appraiser’s qualifications, the valuation method, and a required declaration (§ 1.170A-17(a)(3)).
• Fee. The fee cannot be based to any extent on the appraised value (§ 1.170A-17(a)(9)).
• Retention. The donor must keep the appraisal for as long as it may be relevant (§ 1.170A-17(a)(10)).

A qualified appraiser is an individual who has earned an appraisal designation from a recognized professional appraiser organization, or has met minimum education and experience requirements; who regularly performs appraisals for compensation; and who demonstrates verifiable education and experience in valuing the type of property appraised (§ 170(f)(11)(E)(ii), (iii)). The regulation sets the alternative to a designation at professional-level coursework plus two or more years of experience with the type of property (§ 1.170A-17(b)(2)).

Those who cannot be the qualified appraiser include (§ 1.170A-17(b)(5)):

• the donor;
• the charity receiving the property;
• a party to the transaction in which the donor acquired the property, with a narrow exception;
• an individual related to or employed by one of those persons, or married to such an individual; and
• an individual prohibited from practicing before the IRS at any time in the three years ending on the date of the appraisal.

The appraisal requirement does not apply to cash, publicly traded securities, inventory, certain intellectual property, or a qualified vehicle for which the sale acknowledgment is provided (§ 170(f)(11)(A)(ii)(I)). IRS Publication 526 notes that fees paid to find the value of donated property are not deductible as a charitable contribution.

Missing records and penalties

The consequence of a missing record is written into each rule. For the acknowledgment, the bank record, and the vehicle acknowledgment, the statute says no deduction shall be allowed (§ 170(f)(8)(A), (f)(12)(A), (f)(17)). Those paragraphs contain no reasonable-cause exception of their own.

The noncash rules are different in one respect. The denial of the deduction for a missing description, appraisal, or attachment does not apply if the failure is shown to be due to reasonable cause and not to willful neglect (§ 170(f)(11)(A)(ii)(II)).

Overvaluing donated property carries its own penalty. An underpayment of tax attributable to a substantial valuation misstatement, meaning a claimed value of 150 percent or more of the correct amount, is subject to a 20 percent penalty, but only if the underpayment attributable to such misstatements exceeds $5,000 for the year ($10,000 for most corporations); the penalty rises to 40 percent for a gross misstatement of 200 percent or more (IRC § 6662(a), (e), (h)).

The percentage limits on the deduction, and the overview of the charitable rules, are on the charitable planning page.

Sources