Are donations to a school or PTA tax deductible?
Usually. A gift to a public school, a nonprofit private school, or a PTA or school foundation that is itself a charity counts. Tuition, and fixed fees paid instead of it, never do.
The rule
A public school is part of a state or local government, and a gift to a government counts when it is solely for public purposes, such as the school’s own programs. Nonprofit private schools, colleges and universities are qualified organizations too.
A PTA, a booster club or a school foundation is its own organization. A gift to one counts only if it is a qualified organization itself, so ask it, or look it up in the IRS’s Tax Exempt Organization Search.
Tuition is never a gift, even at a parochial school. Neither is a fixed amount you have to pay on top of tuition, or instead of it, to enroll, even when the school calls it a donation.
An example at a 22% federal bracket: $200 to the PTA’s fund drive is $44 back, without itemizing.
- Without itemizing
- Yes, cash up to $1,000, or $2,000 joint
- If you itemize
- Yes, above 0.5% of your income
- What to keep
- The school’s or PTA’s receipt, or your bank record, and its written acknowledgment for any single gift of $250 or more.
- Watch for
- What you get back comes off: tickets to the school gala, an auction item, a shirt with more than token value.
- A gift set aside for one particular child or family isn’t deductible.
- Paying a college for the right to buy tickets to its games isn’t deductible at all.
Checked on October 2, 2026 against Publication 526, Charitable Contributions and Topic 506, Charitable contributions. An estimate for your records, not tax advice.
Federal tax only. States set their own rules for gifts.
Keep every gift with its receipt.
From 2026, up to $1,000 of cash gifts counts even without itemizing. Reimburse keeps each gift with the charity’s receipt, asks for the paper the IRS wants, and shows what it puts back.