Tax receipts (501c3)
In the US, a church with 501(c)(3) status must give its donors an annual receipt with their contribution summary so they can deduct on their tax return. Ministrium generates these receipts automatically.
What’s on the receipt
The receipt meets IRS requirements:
- Church legal name and EIN
- Address
- Donor’s name and address
- Year summary: total deductible donations
- Detail: one line per donation (date, amount, fund)
- Standard statement: “No goods or services were provided in exchange for this donation” (or the equivalent if any were, e.g. gala dinner)
- Electronic signature of the legal representative
- Issue date
Format: PDF + email with summary.
When they’re generated
| Type | When sent |
|---|---|
| Full annual receipt | Automatically on January 31 of the following year |
| Per-donation receipt | Immediately, for every donation >$250 (IRS threshold) |
| On-demand receipt | Donor can generate from their portal anytime |
Configure what shows
Donations → Settings → Receipts:
- Legal text: editable, default meets IRS
- Church logo: appears in header
- Signature: scanned image or name + title
- Language: Spanish or English
- Footer: address, EIN, phone
If your church doesn’t have 501(c)(3) status, don’t issue receipts as if it did. It’s tax fraud. Use Ministrium to confirm the donation with a “non-deductible” receipt (configurable in the same menu).
Designated donations
If the donor made a designated donation (e.g. “for Honduras missions”) and the church didn’t use the money for that purpose, the donor can lose deductibility.
Ministrium helps:
- Each donation is tagged with the fund picked by the donor.
- If the fund is restricted (vs general), it’s flagged on the receipt.
- If the church reassigns restricted funds, it must document the decision and notify the donor (not automatic).
This is the finance team’s responsibility, not the software’s.
Non-deductible donations
Some are not deductible:
- Event purchases (gala dinner at fair-market value).
- Donations to individuals (not to the church).
- Merchandise purchases (books, camp shirts).
These are marked at receipt with flag deductible: false and don’t appear in the annual receipt.
Countries other than the US
| Country | Equivalent |
|---|---|
| 🇲🇽 Mexico | CFDI deductible receipt (coming soon with SAT) |
| 🇨🇴 Colombia | Donation certificate |
| 🇧🇷 Brazil | Donation receipt (LGPD compliant) |
| 🇪🇸 Spain | IRPF deduction certificate |
Receipts in other countries use the same engine with local templates. If your country isn’t listed, we use a generic template your bookkeeper can adapt.
Resend a receipt
If the donor lost the email:
- CRM → [Donor] → Receipts.
- Resend or Download PDF.
Any finance or org_admin can do it. The donor can also do it from their portal without going through the church.
Audit
Every issued receipt is logged:
{
"action": "receipt.issued",
"receipt_id": "rcpt_2026_001234",
"donor_user_id": "u_18",
"year": 2025,
"total_amount": 3600.00,
"occurred_at": "2026-01-31T08:00:00Z"
}