Charitable donations and sponsorships
Donations aren't a business expense for a sole proprietor, so Tallibook tracks them separately for your personal return; a sponsorship that advertises your business goes on line 8.
Giving back is part of running a local business. The tax rules treat a donation and a sponsorship very differently, so Tallibook has a category for each.
Charitable donations (personal)
If you're a sole proprietor or a single-member LLC, a donation to a charity, church or cause is not a business expense, even when you pay it from the business account. The IRS Schedule C instructions say not to include charitable contributions. Donations may be deductible on your personal return instead: on Schedule A if you itemize, and from 2026, up to $1,000 of cash gifts ($2,000 married filing jointly) if you don't.
Put them in Charitable donations (personal). Tallibook then:
- keeps them out of your profit, your Schedule C and the tax line on the expense screen,
- lists them in their own Charitable donations (not on Schedule C) section of the Schedule C summary, and
- marks them Personal in the tax season pack, so your accountant can put them on your personal return.
Keep the charity's receipt. For a gift of $250 or more you need a written acknowledgment from the charity.
Sponsorships
Paying to put your business's name or logo on a youth team's jerseys, an event banner or a school program is advertising. It goes in Sponsorships, on Schedule C line 8 with your other advertising.
The test: did your business get advertising in return? Logo, name, booth or ad space: Sponsorships. Just a thank-you: Charitable donations (personal).
Bank imports and receipts
When you import a statement or snap a receipt, we suggest these for you: "Red Cross", "church" or "donation" goes to Charitable donations, and "sponsor" goes to Sponsorships. You can always change it in To review.
Related articles
- Categories and Schedule C linesEvery category maps to a line on the IRS Schedule C, so your reports come out tax-ready; search the picker by everyday words and manage categories in Settings → Categories.
- Your Schedule C summaryReports → Schedule C summary lines up your income and expenses with IRS Schedule C, line by line, with your estimated net profit; it's on every plan.
- Get your tax season packReports → Tax season pack checks what's left to fix, then downloads one .zip with your Schedule C summary, P&L, mileage log, every expense and payment, receipts and a note for your accountant.
Still stuck?
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