Are Girl Scouts annual membership dues deductible?

[JulieH1 · Accepted solution]

No.

The membership fee is not considered deductible but there are many expenses associated with Girl Scouts that are deductible.  Maybe even the cookies....

I found this website a while ago and I use it all the time when I get a GSA or BSA question.  

https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2018/02/06/tax-time/

[HoneyTater]

Take a look at IRS Publication 526. 

You may be able to deduct membership fees or dues you pay to a qualified organization. However, you can deduct only the amount that is more than the value of the benefits you receive.

[SteamTrain]

@HoneyTater   

That may be true, but one would need a statement from the local Girls Scouts organization which delineates exactly how much is considered a donation.   I have a couple of 501c3 Charity "memberships" in which they actually tell you what portion can and cannot be deducted as a donation.

OF course, with the increased Std Deduction, tarting in 2018, it's a lot tougher to reach the Itemized Deduction level which allows any of those itemized deductions to be used

(You enter them all in the software anyhow, since some states use entirely different triggers and you enter all of your potential deductions, including charity donations, in the Federal section (with only a few exceptions), and that data is transferred to the state section by the software. )

[TomD8]

If you buy Girl Scout Cookies and take the cookies home (to consume them), you've purchased a product at a fair market value. For this reason, Girl Scout Cookies used in this way are not tax-deductible.

Many Girl Scouts ask customers to pay for one or more packages of cookies for use in community projects or as part of a council-approved Gift of Caring or Cookie Share program. If you would like an acknowledgement of your donation for tax-deductible purposes, contact your Girl Scout’s council.

https://www.girlscouts.org/en/cookies/all-about-cookies/FAQs.html#:~:targetText=If%20you%20buy%20Gir....