If I recieve money from a GoFundMe campaign I set up to help with my college expenses, how do I claim this on my taxes?

[csl0527]

I would like to start a campaign for myself to help with school expenses, if I do will I be taxed on this? How do I go about claiming it on my taxes if I do need to report it?  I do not want to get into any trouble. 

Would it be the same if I set up a fund for someone else to help them out? Do I get taxed? Please help!

[Opus 17]

If you are not doing anything to get the money (performing a service) then it is a gift and not taxable to you. It is also not a tax deductible donation to the giver, and you should not be issuing kind of receipts that say so.  If the dollar amount or number of transactions is over a certain limit you may receive a 1099-K. You don't need to report it as income but keep good records (including proof that you performed no services) in case the IRS asks.

If you sponsor a gofundme for someone else, the best thing is to put the account in the name and tax ID number of the final recipient.  If you keep the account in your name it may generate a 1099-K showing income to you.  That income is probably not taxable (again, it's gifts), but the IRS may assume it is taxable and require you to prove otherwise. 

Any income generated by funds you receive (bank account interest) is taxable to you.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-rhode/crowdfunding-to-help-a-sick-friend-can-lead-to-a-big-tax-b...

[csl0527]

Thank you!
So just that I completely understand:  If I set up my own GoFundMe campaign for college expenses - I will not have to claim the money raised on my taxes, nor mention it on my taxes?

[Opus 17]

As long as you are not providing a service, it is a gift, not taxable income.  If you meet the threshold for the bank to issue a 1099-K, then it will be reported to the IRS.  There are two schools of thought on what to do with the 1099-K.  One suggestion is to ignore it, and wait and see if the IRS will ask about it.  The other idea is to report it as taxable "other income" and then create a second item of "other income" that is a negative number offsetting the 1099-K.  This way the IRS sees that you are reporting the 1099-K but not paying tax on it.  I don't know whether ignoring it, or reporting a negative offset, will attract IRS attention.  Either way, if a 1099-K is issued, the IRS could start asking questions, so make sure to save proof of how the money was raised (copies of the gofundme page, etc.)

If you agree to do anything for the money (web cam, go on dates, etc) then you will run into more tax problems.

[SweetieJean]

Donations made to a GoFundMe personal campaign are generally considered to be personal gifts, and are not tax-deductible by the donor.

[SweetieJean]

It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the future. I seem to recall a Tax Court case that held that panhandling income was subject to tax (and possibly SE tax).