09 Oct Are proceeds from GoFundMe considered taxable income?

Q. Are the proceeds from a GoFundMe account considered taxable income? Are the donations tax deductible?
— Giver, maybe

A. It seems there’s a GoFundMe for just about everything.

Some are to help families after a tragedy or medical diagnosis. Others are from people asking for support for travel, college payments and more.

The IRS said: “If crowdfunding contributions are made as a result of the contributors’ detached and disinterested generosity, and without the contributors receiving or expecting to receive anything in return, the amounts may be gifts and therefore may not be includible in the gross income of those for whom the campaign was organized.”

That means if you are helping someone with a medical bill, or funeral costs, or their dog’s medical bills, or help after a disaster, it would not be taxable to the recipient, said Michael Karu, a certified public accountant with Levine, Jacobs & Co. in Livingston.

However, he said, if the person making the payment expects something in return, then it could be taxable income.

On the other side, typically the payments are not deductible, as they are deemed to be gifts, he said.

The exception would be payments to `GoFundMe Nonprofit Fundraisers,” he said

The GoFundMe website says: “Donations made to a personal GoFundMe fundraiser, rather than a nonprofit fundraiser, are generally considered to be personal gifts and aren’t guaranteed to be tax-deductible. But, you can always check with a tax professional to be sure. You won’t be issued a tax receipt from GoFundMe. Only donations made to GoFundMe nonprofit fundraisers are guaranteed to be tax-deductible in the US, the UK, Canada, Ireland, and Australia and will receive tax receipts automatically from our nonprofit partner, PayPal Giving Fund. Donors in other countries will still be emailed the tax-deductible receipt, but you’ll need to check with your local tax authority to confirm if they are tax-deductible. Donations to these fundraisers are collected by PayPal Giving Fund, a non-profit organization, and distributed to the designated nonprofit.”

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This story was originally published in October 2025.

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