Can a tax receipt be issued for a membership fee or a ticket?

Yes for a membership fee, provided your association is authorised and the fee only gives entitlement to symbolic benefits. For an event ticket, it is more limited: the price of the ticket generally corresponds to a counterpart (access to the event), so it is not tax-deductible; only a voluntary donation added on top of the ticket can be, unless you decide, under your own responsibility, to declare the event itself tax-deductible.

In all cases, the basic rule is the same: a tax receipt can only cover a payment made without any real counterpart. It is your association that chooses, for each membership rate or each event, whether it is declared tax-deductible or not, and it remains responsible for that choice. This assumes that your association has already activated tax receipts: see also how tax receipts work for the general functioning.

The principle: a tax-deductible donation has no counterpart

A payment only qualifies for a tax reduction if it stems from a charitable intention: it must be given free of charge, without any direct or indirect benefit for the person making it. This condition applies to a donation as well as to a membership fee.

• What is permitted. The prerogatives linked to membership status, such as the right to vote at the general meeting or eligibility for the board of directors, as well as honorary titles. These benefits do not count as a real counterpart.
• What is excluded. The handover of a good, a service provision, exclusive access to facilities or to reserved information. As soon as the membership fee or ticket gives entitlement to something tangible in exchange, that part is no longer tax-deductible.

Membership fees

On Donoor, each membership plan has a Tax deduction switch, visible only once your association's tax receipts service is active. When switched on, it displays "Membership entitles the member to a tax receipt" and each membership fee paid generates an automatic tax receipt for the member.

If your membership includes paid options at the time of purchase, such as a shirt, a meal or a licence, Donoor automatically deducts their price from the tax-deductible amount: these options are counterparts, not a donation. For example, for a membership fee of £100 with a paid option at £40, the tax receipt covers £60, not £140. This calculation is based on the price fixed at the time of purchase, never on the current catalogue rate, which may have changed since. See how to create a membership campaign for setting up rates, and the product page memberships.

Good to know: Donoor applies no tolerance for a small counterpart, even though the law allows one in certain limited cases. The full price of each paid option is deducted from the tax-deductible amount, never only in part: this is stricter than what the law requires, never more permissive.

Event tickets

For an event, the switch is called Tax-deductible; when switched on, it displays "Participants will receive a tax receipt". However, a ticket in principle gives access to something tangible, a concert, a meal, a training course: it is not a donation. Two situations arise:

• The event is not declared tax-deductible. If you have activated the option that allows participants to add a free donation at the time of purchase, only that donation is tax-deductible. The price of the ticket itself never is.
• The event is declared tax-deductible. The entire amount paid, ticket included, becomes tax-deductible. This option is only intended for events whose ticket carries no significant counterpart; activating it for a ticket giving genuine paid access (a meal, a show) exposes your association to tax risk, since it is the association that bears responsibility by signing the mandate with Donoor.

On Donoor, there is no box in which to state the value of a meal or service so that only the difference from the ticket price is automatically deducted: the choice remains binary, event tax-deductible or not, and it is your association that assesses whether the ticket carries a genuine counterpart before activating the option. See how to configure tickets and rates and the product page ticketing.

Important: issuing a tax receipt for a membership fee or ticket that in reality carries a significant counterpart exposes your association to tax penalties and engages the responsibility of the representative who signed the mandate with Donoor. If in doubt about a specific rate, seek advice from a chartered accountant or a tax ruling from the authorities before activating the deduction.

Key takeaways

• A tax receipt can only cover a payment without a real counterpart: symbolic benefits (voting rights, honorary titles) do not count as a counterpart.
• For a membership fee, switch on Tax deduction in the membership plan; Donoor automatically deducts the price of paid options from the tax-deductible amount.
• For a ticket, only the free donation added on top is tax-deductible by default; marking the entire event Tax-deductible is possible, but under your own responsibility.
• A shop purchase never gives entitlement to a tax receipt on the product price, only on the donation added on top.
• Your association remains solely responsible for the accuracy of its tax receipts.