Donations
General information
Donation
A donation is a voluntary and altruistic contribution of money or benefits in kind for religious, scientific, charitable, economic or political purposes.
If a donation is made for the promotion of public purposes (in the sense of tax law), in particular for the promotion of science and research, the university can issue a donation receipt.
When is a donation not a donation?
The characteristic of a donation is always the altruistic idea. The donor gives something to the recipient (classically: money or an object in kind) for which no consideration is expected in return. The donor's assets must actually be reduced by the donation.
The legislator recognizes this fact by granting the donor a tax advantage, which the donor can in turn claim by presenting the donation receipt issued by the recipient of the donation ("donation receipt").
Consequently, a donation is always deemed not to be a donation in the case of an exchange of services between parties. As soon as an attributable consideration is provided, the tax benefit may not be claimed.
Furthermore, a donation is not a tax-deductible donation if the donation is not used in the recipient's beneficiary area but, for example, in the economic (partial) area (see also "Donations to a BgA").
The institution issuing the confirmation must be legitimized to issue the donation receipt and essentially pursue charitable purposes ultimately for the benefit of the general public.
Donations to a university
To the sovereign area
If donations are made to the university, it is irrelevant whether they go to individual members of the university (e.g. professors - in their office -) or to institutes or departments. The only decisive factor is that they exclusively serve the interests of the university with regard to the sovereign tasks of research and teaching.
Only if the funds/items are used in the sovereign area can they be taken into account for tax purposes by the donor by means of a donation receipt. For example, a donation that can be taken into account does not exist if a social event is to be supported. No donation receipt should be issued for this.
The confirmation may only be issued by the university administration. The earmarking of an otherwise altruistic donation is harmless.
For special cases, such as donations in the form of a waiver of reimbursement of expenses (so-called "expense donations"), please contact Ms. Schulz at 4807.
Donations to a business of a commercial nature (BgA)
A donation may be made to a commercial enterprise, but the donor may not be issued with a donation receipt for this, as the commercial enterprise - as distinct from the sovereign enterprise - does not pursue the non-profit purposes (scientific research and teaching) that the university as a sponsoring body pursues with its area of sovereignty.
The university is liable to the tax authorities for the unauthorized claiming of tax benefits within the scope of issuer liability in the event of non-compliance.