The Nonprofit FAQ

Is the cost of a members' magazine tax-deductible?
Is a magazine that provides program listings of a PBS station for its members (stated contribution of $25) a deductible item for the donor? For larger donations, is the deductible amount ($donation minus $25?)

Or is this dues to a membership organization and therefore tax
deductible?

John Taylor replied:

(Note: The dollar thresholds mentioned in this note — from 1994! — have all been changed. Most importantly, donors must now (2010) have contemporaneous confirmation from the recipient to deduct any gift, no matter how small. The threshold for "de minimis" value changes annually; before choosing a premium to be giving in recognition of gifts, it's wise to check to see whether the proposed item will fall below the current year's amount. — Ed.)



Actually, "dues" are NOT tax deductible so let's hope these are not.

(Let me expand on what John Taylor is saying here. If you belong to a golf or billiards club and it charges you $100 per year as "dues," that payment is not tax-deductible. If you send a donation to a "charitable, scientific, educational or literary organization" -- familiar "501(c)(3)" organizations" -- and they tell you that you have become a "member" as a result, the contribution probably is tax-deductible.

Since the "contribution" is under the $75 threshold you are not required to send your donor a quid pro quo receipt. By not saying anything, then, you are leaving up to the contributor to decide if they can/should claim a deduction. If, though, you want to play completely by the rules you would want to reduce the $25 gift by the FMV of magazine and show the net as being a gift.

I am assuming that [the magazine] is something that non-donors can purchase and has a newsstand price and that the charge is less than $25. If not, though, it fits into the same category as the previously discussed coupon book: By stipulating that you must give a minimum of $25 to receive the magazine you have, in essence, established the FMV at $25.

With the exception of not sending a receipt at all there are three ways receipt of the magazine would not constitute a benefit that should be subtracted from the gift:

  1. The magazine is given, freely, to donors and non-donors alike.
  2. The FMV of the magazine is no more than 2% of the gift amount or $64, whichever is less (for 1994).
  3. The magazine meets the IRS' definition of "token item." This requires that the cost of the magazine be less then $6.40 (again, 1994 figure), but the IRS usually thinks of things like key-chains or lapel pins in this regard.


[Our university] has a similar situation in regard to our Alumni
Association. All contributors of $35 receive _The [University]
Magazine_. In our case this is not regarded as a gift-related benefit as the same publication is made available to alum and friends alike at no charge. We encourage folk to give us $10 to defray costs, but it's not required.