What your community must observe when issuing receipts
Representatives and donation receiptsThe issuer of every donation receipt (Zuwendungsbestätigung) is your community. Anyone who intentionally or through gross negligence issues an incorrect receipt, or uses donations for other purposes, is liable for the tax lost, at a flat rate of 30 per cent of the donation (§ 10b Abs. 4 EStG). The Studio checks a lot, but not everything. These points are your responsibility.
Only issue receipts for genuine donations
A donation is voluntary and given without anything in return. Payments for courses, food, trips or a funeral fund aren't donations. If in doubt about whether a payment fits the purposes in your tax exemption notice (Freistellungsbescheid), for example with money you pass on to others, check with your tax adviser.
Match the payment to the right person
A card payment shows neither a name nor an address. Ask for proof of the donation, with the payment slip from the screen or the bank statement. Compare the date, time, amount and reference.
Sign and hand over correctly
- Anyone authorised to sign for the community may sign, for example the chair or a person authorised by the board. The person must provide the signature in the Studio themselves.
- With the Digital procedure, you notify the tax office (Finanzamt) of the procedure once. After that, you may also pass on the PDF by email.
- With the Handwritten procedure, you only hand over the sheet signed by hand.
Bookkeeping and reconciliation
Record the donations in your community's books. Regularly reconcile the receipts issued with the donations recorded, for example once a quarter. You download the list for this under Representatives with Export receipts. Each row shows the reference you can use to find the donation in your SumUp account.
Keeping records
Your community must keep a copy of every receipt. The Studio stores every receipt issued, unalterably, until the end of the tenth calendar year after the year it was issued, and deletes it after that. Download the receipts beforehand if you need them for longer.
Keep the notice up to date
Add every new notice from the tax office. If the board or signature changes, update the representatives. After a refund, revoke the receipt and let the donor know.
Related articles
- Set up donation receiptsUnder Representatives, you set up in four steps who represents the community and who signs. After that, the Studio issues donation receipts.
- Issue a donation receiptA donor wants a receipt? Here's how to issue it in the Studio for a specific payment, with a name and address that you check yourself.
- Choose the receipt procedureIn the last step, you decide whether receipts are created as PDFs with the signature embedded or whether you print each one and sign it by hand.
More on “Representatives and donation receipts”
- Enter the boardIn the first step, you enter who represents your community. The chair is required; other positions are optional.
- Add the signatureThe signature appears on every digital donation receipt. It's drawn in the Studio, on a phone via QR code, or via a link sent by email.
- Add the tax exemption noticeUpload the tax exemption notice (Freistellungsbescheid) from your tax office and enter the tax office, tax number, date, period and purposes. Our team reviews the details.
- Offer donation receipts on the screenAfter a card payment, the screen asks whether the donor would like a donation receipt. They enter their details on their own phone and receive it by email.
- Revoke a donation receiptIf a receipt was issued incorrectly or the donation was refunded, revoke it, stating a reason. After that, there's no new one for the same payment.
Still have questions?
Write to us at info@sadaqa-now.de and include the name of your community. That way we can help you as quickly as possible.