As of Jan. 1, 2018, donors who make a contribution to or for the benefit of a college or university in exchange for the right to purchase tickets or seating at an athletic event in the university’s stadium can no longer take a charitable deduction for any portion of the contribution. The law clearly states that, “no charitable deduction will be allowed for any amount” of these contributions. As for adding the "donation" to the cost basis of tickets sold, I am not aware of any rulings that prohibit that. The contribution is made to receive a benefit, which is purchasing tickets. Therefore, a good argument can be made that they should be included in the cost when calculating the gain or loss on the sale of the tickets.
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