Free tool, no account

Donation receipt checklist

Almost nobody loses a charitable deduction because the value was wrong. They lose it because a real donation had nothing attached to it three years later. Enter what you are claiming, and print the list of what the IRS generally expects you to be holding.

What are you claiming for this donation?

The deduction you intend to claim, not what the property cost new. Nothing you type is uploaded or saved.

Or see what each band asks for

The bands are not all inclusive. The acknowledgment rule reads “$250 or more”, while the Form 8283 and appraisal rules read “more than $500” and “more than $5,000”, so a donation sitting exactly on $5,000 is generally in Section A rather than Section B.

Enter an amount above and the checklist appears here, ready to print.

Working out which form the year adds up to instead? The Form 8283 checker takes the same thresholds from the other end, and the receipts guide explains where each line comes from.

How it works

Four steps, and the last one is the point

A checklist that only exists on a screen is a page you read once. One in your pocket at the donation center is a record you actually make.

1
Enter what you are claiming
The deduction you intend to take for this donation, not what the property cost when it was new. The list rebuilds as the amount crosses each threshold, so you can see exactly what changes at $250, at $500, and at $5,000.
2
Read the list from the top
The lines stack rather than replace each other. Everything a small donation needs, a large one also needs, plus more. Each line says which IRS source states it.
3
Tick what you already have
The ticks are only in the page. There is no account, no storage, and nothing is uploaded, so what is left unticked is simply what to collect next.
4
Print it and take it with you
The printed sheet drops the site around it and comes out as black text on white paper, with blanks for the organization, the date, and the tax year, and with every source URL spelled out so a link still works on paper.

The ladder

Each step adds to the one below it

This is the whole shape of the rules. The checklist above is this ladder, filtered to your amount and expanded into things you can actually do.

Under $250
Receipt and your own record
A written receipt from the organization, plus your own record of what you gave, in what condition, and how you valued it.
$250 or more, up to $500
Written acknowledgment
Your own records stop being enough. You generally need a contemporaneous written acknowledgment from the qualified organization.
Over $500, up to $5,000
Form 8283, Section A
Form 8283 joins the return. No appraisal and no signature from the charity are required at this level.
Over $5,000, up to $500,000
Qualified appraisal, Section B
A qualified appraisal, Section B of Form 8283, and a signature from the charity. Tested per item or per group of similar items, not per drop-off.
Over $500,000
Attach the appraisal
The appraisal document itself is generally attached to the return, not merely held.

Tier headings from Publication 526; thresholds as stated on Topic no. 506 and in the IRS substantiation guidance, read 2026-08-05. Exceptions apply at each level.

What it does not do

The honest limits

A tool that overstates what it can do is worth less than one that says where it stops.

It does not know what you actually gave. The list is keyed to one number. Whether the organization is qualified, whether the goods were in good used condition or better, and whether you got anything back are separate questions with separate answers.
It does not cover every kind of gift. Vehicles, publicly traded securities, and quid pro quo contributions at a gala carry rules of their own. The receipts guide covers the $75 disclosure rule; vehicles have their own form entirely.
It does not remember anything. There is no account and no server, so the amount and the ticks disappear when you close the tab. Print the sheet if you need it to survive.
It is not a substitute for the documents. A completed checklist is a record that you thought about the rules. The receipt, the acknowledgment, and the appraisal are the things that actually substantiate a deduction.

Then what

Records are half of it. The number is the other half.

Substantiation proves the donation happened. It says nothing about what the property was worth, which is a separate body of evidence.

FAQ

Questions about donation receipts

Do I need a receipt for a $40 bag of clothes?

For a noncash contribution below $250, a written receipt from the organization generally suffices, and Publication 526 has a section headed "Deductions of Less Than $250" covering it. Keep the receipt and your own record of what was in the bag and what condition it was in.

What has to be in the written acknowledgment?

The IRS states that for any contribution of $250 or more you must obtain a contemporaneous written acknowledgment from the qualified organization indicating the amount of cash and a description of any property other than cash contributed. It must also state whether the organization provided any goods or services in consideration for the contribution, and if so a good faith estimate of their value.

Does the charity have to tell me what my donation was worth?

Generally no. The acknowledgment describes the property; valuing it is the donor’s job. That is why a donation slip usually has a blank space where you would like a number to be, and why the value you claim has to rest on your own evidence. The donation value calculator builds that evidence from published thrift-guide ranges.

How late can I ask for a receipt?

Later than you think, but not indefinitely. The IRS states that to be contemporaneous the written acknowledgment must generally be obtained by the donor no later than the date the donor files the return for the year the contribution is made. After you have filed, there is generally no retroactive fix.

Is a photo of the pile enough on its own?

No. A photo evidences condition and quantity, which is genuinely useful and not something the IRS requires, but it is not a substitute for the receipt or acknowledgment the rules do require. Keep both.

Is the checklist saved if I close the tab?

No, on purpose: there is nowhere to save it to, because there is no account and no server. Print it, or use the DeductiBee app, which keeps the receipt photo and the item photos attached to the drop-off they belong to, on your iPhone. This is record-keeping, not tax advice.

The rules behind the checklist

Publication 526 (2025), Charitable Contributions, full textIRS, IRS publication
Topic no. 506, Charitable contributionsIRS, IRS guidance
Substantiating charitable contributionsIRS, IRS guidance
Instructions for Form 8283IRS, IRS form
Publication 561 (rev. December 2025), Determining the Value of Donated Property, full textIRS, IRS publication

Every requirement on this page was read from the linked IRS source on August 5, 2026. Publication 526’s tier headings are named and linked rather than quoted at length. Thresholds and exceptions change, and this page is general information rather than advice about your return. This is record-keeping software, not tax advice.

The proof and the record, together

Make the record in the parking lot, not in April.

DeductiBee hangs the receipt photo, the item photos, and the cited values off a single drop-off, so nothing gets separated between the donation center and filing season.

Evidence attached

A photo on the item and on the receipt, kept with the record it belongs to, on your device.

Nothing to remember

The app tracks the running yearly total, so the $250 and $500 lines arrive as a prompt rather than a discovery.

Free to start, with 20 new item entries a year. Import and viewing your own data are never paywalled.