Are membership fees and donations tax deductable?
- Thread starter Fizz71
- Start date
501(c)(3) memberships are tax deductible so long as you receive no real value in exchange for the membership. Sorta tricky because if you are a member and attend the spring swap or summer picnic then the value of the food, portion of fees we pay for speakers and other swap expenses could be considered to have value in exchange for the membership.
We don't send out tax letters to members but do provide tax letters to donors.
I don't think an auditor will flip over a few dollars.
Our working legal address is:
North Central Pennsylvania Aquarium Reef Society, Inc.
1110 Walnut Street
Williamsport, PA 17701
All other donations to the club are tax-deductible in general. Mileage on behalf of the club, cash donations and equipment donations are always fully deductible.
Not an accountant or lawyer but that's how I understand things to be.
-Larry
We don't send out tax letters to members but do provide tax letters to donors.
I don't think an auditor will flip over a few dollars.
Our working legal address is:
North Central Pennsylvania Aquarium Reef Society, Inc.
1110 Walnut Street
Williamsport, PA 17701
All other donations to the club are tax-deductible in general. Mileage on behalf of the club, cash donations and equipment donations are always fully deductible.
Not an accountant or lawyer but that's how I understand things to be.
-Larry
Fizz71
FragSwapper
That's what I understood it to be as well. What really made me curious was my local museum like I mentioned... If you "donate" to visit the museum it's not tax deductible, but if you make a "membership donation" it's completely tax deductible...even though the membership includes free admission to the museum. I couldn't really grasp the logic there, but figured that should mean my NCPARS membership fees should be tax deductible, but what I pay to get into the events on top of it should not.
Atleast that's the answer I'm sticking with.
--Kevin
Atleast that's the answer I'm sticking with.
--Kevin
Sounds good to me. I think your reasoning is safe.
I guess a museum could say that the "membership donation" does not appreciably change their expenses so the donor does not receive anything real in exchange for the donation. Not like their acquisition costs or electricity bills are any different if some extra people walk through the door. An extra human slightly lowers heating costs in the winter and slightly raises cooling costs in the summer but that's all a wash. And you usually don't walk away with anything from a museum (unless you're an art thief).
The club has the real expense of food when members attend swaps. And we also cover a portion of the hall rental (when we have it) and speaker fees with membership revenue.
I guess a museum could say that the "membership donation" does not appreciably change their expenses so the donor does not receive anything real in exchange for the donation. Not like their acquisition costs or electricity bills are any different if some extra people walk through the door. An extra human slightly lowers heating costs in the winter and slightly raises cooling costs in the summer but that's all a wash. And you usually don't walk away with anything from a museum (unless you're an art thief).
The club has the real expense of food when members attend swaps. And we also cover a portion of the hall rental (when we have it) and speaker fees with membership revenue.
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