Hi- I recommend an article entitled, "Are museum memberships tax deductible?" by Barry G. Szczesny(Museum News November/December 2003). Since memberships are often a blend of purchase of benefits(for which dollar values are difficult to assign) and gift, the tax deductibility can be a sticky wicket. This article cleared some things up for me. Primarily, that the IRS allows an exception for the most common membership benefits so that if the benefits are "frequently exercised" then they are considered insubstantial and therefore the payment is fully deductible. "Frequently exercised" includes benefits such as free admission, museum store discounts, and non-commercial newsletters. Note that this is only for membership payments less than $75. He goes on to explain how to handle larger membership payments, particularly those over $250, which require substantiation from the museum. But please do read it yourself, in case I have mis-represented some tax law nuances. He ends with "The IRS doesn't expect you to be an expert tax attorney, but it does expect a good faith effort to comply with the law" Best, Amy Cunningham ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).