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I planning to start a Go Fund Me fundraiser, and I'm expecting to receive a 1099K form. Is there a way for me to deduct some of those expenses on Turbo Tax website?

Can you also give the list of eligible deduction for 1099k? Thanks
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I planning to start a Go Fund Me fundraiser, and I'm expecting to receive a 1099K form. Is there a way for me to deduct some of those expenses on Turbo Tax website?

So, there are a number of issues here.

First, any money contributed by others is a personal gift by them.  You don't have any reporting requirement.  But, you also can't issue the donors a receipt or letter saying that their gift is a tax deductible contribution, because you are not a registered exempt organization.  Gifts to benefit specific people, or gifts made to non-US charities, and not tax deductible, and even if you are planning on passing the money to a registered US exempt organization, you can't give the donors a receipt that says their donation is tax deductible.

Second, money that is contributed to you in your name (and using a bank account with your SSN) will be looked at by the IRS as potential income. Gifts are not taxable income if you are doing no work and providing nothing in return.  But the IRS may look at it as income until proven otherwise.  If you deduct a commission for your own services, that is definitely taxable income to you.  If you give donors tokens of thanks (t-shirt, etc.) that will look even more like you are running a business.  Or if you are not simply transferring cash overseas but you are buying relief supplies yourself and arranging for shipping, you definitely have a business.

The simplest way to report the transactions will be to use the self-employed version of turbotax and show a schedule C with all the donations as income.  Any money you send overseas for relief efforts (or spend on supplies) is a business expense.  Assuming you send over all the money you receive, you will show a profit of zero and won't owe any tax.  If you keep some money for your expenses and time and effort, that's personal income to you.

However, if you spend more money than you receive, it may not be tax deductible.  Money spent as gifts to help needy people is never tax deductible by you personally.  And money given to a relief organization is only personally tax deductible if the organization is an exempt organization registered in the US.  (For example, the International Red Cross is registered in the US,, and you can deduct personal donations, even if they are earmarked for foreign relief.  But donations to a foreign charity will not be deductible in the US even if the charity is legally registered in its home country.)  (There are exceptions for Canada, Mexico and I think maybe India, but they don't apply to you.)

If you basically intend to collect cash and send cash to foreign charities or foreign persons, I would just report the income, the outgo, and show no profit.  The gifts you send would be subject to the gift tax return requirement, although no gift tax is owed unless your lifetime gifts exceed $5 million.

If you want this to be an ongoing effort, or if you intend to buy and ship relief supplies, you may want to talk to an accountant about setting up a legit business with a separate business tax ID number and other protections to keep your personal money separate from donated money.

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4 Replies

I planning to start a Go Fund Me fundraiser, and I'm expecting to receive a 1099K form. Is there a way for me to deduct some of those expenses on Turbo Tax website?

What's the money for?  (Exactly)

I planning to start a Go Fund Me fundraiser, and I'm expecting to receive a 1099K form. Is there a way for me to deduct some of those expenses on Turbo Tax website?

Flood relief in Vietnam.

I planning to start a Go Fund Me fundraiser, and I'm expecting to receive a 1099K form. Is there a way for me to deduct some of those expenses on Turbo Tax website?

Also the target goal is $50k, which definitely over the $14k per person limit.

I planning to start a Go Fund Me fundraiser, and I'm expecting to receive a 1099K form. Is there a way for me to deduct some of those expenses on Turbo Tax website?

So, there are a number of issues here.

First, any money contributed by others is a personal gift by them.  You don't have any reporting requirement.  But, you also can't issue the donors a receipt or letter saying that their gift is a tax deductible contribution, because you are not a registered exempt organization.  Gifts to benefit specific people, or gifts made to non-US charities, and not tax deductible, and even if you are planning on passing the money to a registered US exempt organization, you can't give the donors a receipt that says their donation is tax deductible.

Second, money that is contributed to you in your name (and using a bank account with your SSN) will be looked at by the IRS as potential income. Gifts are not taxable income if you are doing no work and providing nothing in return.  But the IRS may look at it as income until proven otherwise.  If you deduct a commission for your own services, that is definitely taxable income to you.  If you give donors tokens of thanks (t-shirt, etc.) that will look even more like you are running a business.  Or if you are not simply transferring cash overseas but you are buying relief supplies yourself and arranging for shipping, you definitely have a business.

The simplest way to report the transactions will be to use the self-employed version of turbotax and show a schedule C with all the donations as income.  Any money you send overseas for relief efforts (or spend on supplies) is a business expense.  Assuming you send over all the money you receive, you will show a profit of zero and won't owe any tax.  If you keep some money for your expenses and time and effort, that's personal income to you.

However, if you spend more money than you receive, it may not be tax deductible.  Money spent as gifts to help needy people is never tax deductible by you personally.  And money given to a relief organization is only personally tax deductible if the organization is an exempt organization registered in the US.  (For example, the International Red Cross is registered in the US,, and you can deduct personal donations, even if they are earmarked for foreign relief.  But donations to a foreign charity will not be deductible in the US even if the charity is legally registered in its home country.)  (There are exceptions for Canada, Mexico and I think maybe India, but they don't apply to you.)

If you basically intend to collect cash and send cash to foreign charities or foreign persons, I would just report the income, the outgo, and show no profit.  The gifts you send would be subject to the gift tax return requirement, although no gift tax is owed unless your lifetime gifts exceed $5 million.

If you want this to be an ongoing effort, or if you intend to buy and ship relief supplies, you may want to talk to an accountant about setting up a legit business with a separate business tax ID number and other protections to keep your personal money separate from donated money.

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