How to Issue Tax Receipts for Silent and Live Auction Item Winners

When Are Tax Receipts Allowed for Auction Items?

Tax receipts can be issued automatically for both silent and live auction items—if the winning bid meets the required threshold:

• Canada: The winning bid must be 125% or more of the item’s value (CRA regulation)

• United States: The winning bid must be 100% or more of the item’s value (IRS regulation)

How to Enable Tax Receipting for Auction Items

First, make sure that tax receipting is enabled and set up for your fundraiser.

Follow this article on How to Set up Tax Receipts

Once tax receipting is active:

• Go to your Fundraiser Builder

• Select Silent and Live Auctions > Edit Auction Items

• Click the pen icon to edit the item you want to enable tax receipting for

In the item settings:

• Scroll down and check the box that says:
  “Send tax receipt if item sale price is 125%+ of value” (or 100%+ in the U.S.)

When enabled:

• If a winning bidder pays more than the set threshold, Trellis will automatically generate and send a tax receipt

• The receipt will include only the eligible portion—the amount paid above the item’s fair market value

US Organizations Tax Receipts

Our system can generate tax receipts when silent and live auction items are purchased and the sales price is over the item value. 

The tax receipt will include:

• Total Amount Paid: The full winning bid amount.

• Value of Advantage: The Fair Market Value of the item received.

• Tax Deductible Amount: The difference between the two (the actual donation amount).

Raiser's Edge Integration

If you sync your data to Raiser's Edge, the gift will show the total gift amount and tax deductible portion. 

• Receipt Status: If the receipt was issued by Trellis, the status will read "RECEIPTED". Otherwise it will say "NEEDSRECEIPT".

Important Notes

• Tax receipts will only generate if the purchaser has a mailing address on file. If the address is missing, the system will fail to generate the receipt. You’ll need to:

  • Collect the missing address

  • Edit the checkout record

  • Manually generate and send the tax receipt

• In-Kind Donations: Trellis does not handle receipting for "In-Kind" donations. You must handle these outside of the platform.