What You Need to Know: Are Political Contributions Tax Deductible?

The short answer is no. Donations made to political organizations or political candidates are not tax-deductible. The IRS makes clear that expenditures for lobbying and political expenditures incurred with “influencing legislations, participating or intervening in any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office, attempting to influence the general public with respect to elections, legislative matters, or referendums, and any direct communication with a covered executive branch official in an attempt to influences the person’s official actions or positions” are not tax deductible.  

Non-deductible contributions include donations to:

• a political party
• a campaign committee
• admission to dinners or programs that benefit a political party of candidate

Businesses also cannot deduct political donations or contributions on their tax returns. That includes in-kind donations and advertisements in convention bulletins.

Also be aware that donations of time or effort to a political campaign, political candidate, political action committee (PAC), or any group that seeks to influence legislation are not tax deductible.

If a charitable donation is tax deductible, the receipt from the charity will have required language stating the donation is tax deductible. You can also use this link to IRS.gov to help you determine whether a donation you want to make to any specific organization is/is not tax deductible.