The short answer
It depends on what the person gets back. A payment with nothing in return is a gift. A payment for something worth about what was paid is a purchase. A payment above the value received is part of each, which the IRS calls a quid pro quo contribution, and over $75 the church owes the payer a written disclosure with a good-faith estimate of that value. The IRS does not treat raffle tickets as contributions at all.
One event, three kinds of money
The youth group's spaghetti dinner raises money four ways in one evening. Some people buy tickets, some drop a check in the basket at the door, a few bid on donated desserts, and the night ends with a raffle drawing. The cash all lands in one deposit bag, but it is not all the same kind of money, and the giving records and the books need to tell the pieces apart.
IRS Publication 1771 and Publication 1828 use the same basic test: what did the person receive in return?
- A gift. Nothing of value comes back, or only intangible religious benefits. The basket checks are gifts.
- A purchase. The person pays about what the item is worth. A pie bought at the posted price is a purchase, even though the money supports ministry.
- Part gift, part purchase. The person pays more than the value of what they receive. The IRS calls this a quid pro quo contribution. Generally, only the amount above the value received can be a contribution.
The $75 disclosure and the $250 acknowledgment
Publication 1771 says a charity must give a written disclosure statement to a donor who makes a payment of more than $75 that is partly a contribution and partly for goods or services. The statement tells the donor that the deductible amount is limited to what they paid above the value of what they received, and it gives a good-faith estimate of that value. The IRS example: a $100 ticket for an event valued at $40 needs the disclosure, even though the gift portion is only $60.
The disclosure goes out with the solicitation or with the receipt, in a way likely to come to the donor's attention. Fine print buried in a larger document may not meet that test. The same publication sets a penalty of $10 per contribution, up to $5,000 per fundraising event or mailing, for missing disclosures, unless the church shows reasonable cause.
That is separate from the acknowledgment a donor needs for any single gift of $250 or more, which year-end statements usually cover. The wording those statements carry is explained in what belongs on a year-end contribution statement, so it is not repeated here. The practical step for an event is to set the value estimate before the tickets go on sale, while the caterer's quote is in hand, and print it on the ticket or the event page.
Thank-you items: the 2026 token amounts
Small items given in a fundraising campaign can be treated as having insubstantial value, so the church does not have to count them against the gift. Publication 1771 describes the tests, and the IRS adjusts the dollar amounts each year. For 2026, Revenue Procedure 2025-32 sets them as follows:
- Low-cost articles. Items bearing the church's name or logo, such as a mug or calendar, costing the church $13.90 or less in total, given to a donor whose payment is at least $69.50.
- The 2 percent test. Benefits worth no more than 2 percent of the payment or $139, whichever is less.
- Conditions. Publication 1771 says these apply when the payment is made in a fundraising campaign and the church tells the donor how much of the payment is a deductible contribution.
- Intangible religious benefits. Admission to a religious ceremony and similar benefits not usually sold commercially need no value. Travel, consumer goods and tuition for a recognized degree do not count as intangible religious benefits.
| Payment | Gift, purchase or both | What the records need |
|---|---|---|
| Basket gift or online gift, nothing given back | Gift | Giver, date, amount and fund |
| Bake sale item at the posted price | Purchase | Event revenue; Idaho sales tax question |
| $100 dinner ticket, meal valued at $40 (IRS example) | Both: $40 purchase, $60 possible gift | Written disclosure with a good-faith estimate, since the payment exceeds $75 |
| Auction bid above the item's posted value | Purchase up to value, excess may be a gift | Posted value, winning bid, buyer's invoice |
| Logo mug costing the church $13.90 or less for a $69.50 or larger gift (2026) | Gift; mug is a token | Campaign wording that tells the donor the deductible amount |
| Raffle ticket | Not a contribution | Raffle account; prize records; any Form W-2G |
Dinners, auctions and raffles
Dinners and banquets. IRS Publication 526 says that when a charity event has an established charge, that charge is generally the value of the benefit, and that whether the person actually attends does not change it. A ticket printed "Contribution" does not make the whole price a gift.
Auctions. Publication 526 gives the example of a bidder who pays no more than the fair rental value of a beach-house week and so has made no contribution. When a bid exceeds an item's value, the excess may be a contribution. Posting a value next to each item gives the church the figure it needs for any disclosure.
Raffles. Publication 526 says amounts paid for raffle, bingo or lottery tickets are not deductible contributions, so raffle money belongs in its own income account and off giving statements. The Form W-2G instructions apply to church raffles: for 2026 a prize generally must be reported when it is $2,000 or more and at least 300 times the ticket price, and federal income tax is withheld when the prize minus the ticket price exceeds $5,000. Publication 1828 adds that gaming carried on regularly may be an unrelated business.
Idaho raffle rules. Idaho Code Title 67, Chapter 77 governs charitable raffles. It limits an organization to twelve drawings a year, caps cash prizes at $1,000 per raffle (merchandise prizes are treated differently), requires at least 80 percent of net proceeds to go to charitable or religious purposes, and requires a license from the Idaho State Lottery when the total value of merchandise prizes exceeds $5,000. Read the chapter before planning a large raffle.
Idaho sales tax on event sales
Sales tax is a separate question from charitable giving. The Idaho State Tax Commission's page on sales nonprofits make lists fundraising sales and concessions as taxable, and raffle ticket sales and meals a church sells at a members-only event as nontaxable. It says a set or suggested price is taxable even when it is called a "donation", and that an auction item is taxed on its full winning bid unless the church posts the item's fair market value and gives the buyer an invoice showing the value, the tax and the donation.
Whether a particular sale is taxable, and whether the church needs a seller's permit, are questions for the Tax Commission or the church's CPA. The books' part is to keep taxable sales and any tax collected in their own accounts, with tax collected recorded as owed to the state rather than as income.
Recording event money in the books
Set the accounts up before the event, so the count team knows where each kind of money goes. Event income is recorded on the same basis as the rest of the books, which is covered in cash or accrual for church books. Keeping gifts and event income apart is ordinary church bookkeeping work:
- Contributions. Basket gifts and the gift portion of any quid pro quo payment, recorded by giver in the giving records and by fund if the event supports a restricted purpose.
- Event revenue. Ticket sales at value, bake sale and concession sales, auction purchases at posted value. Not on giving statements.
- Raffle proceeds. Their own account, with prize costs and any winner paperwork kept beside them.
- Direct costs. Food, prizes, rentals and printing, coded to the same event, so leadership can see the net result.
- Event file. The value estimate and how it was set, the ticket or flyer wording, and the count sheets, kept with the deposit.
