A GoFundMe for a funeral works because the platform takes no cut of the donations: standard personal fundraisers carry a 0% platform fee, so organizers keep every dollar raised minus payment processing costs (GoFundMe's fee explainer). Donors can add an optional tip to support GoFundMe itself, but that's separate from what the fundraiser collects. The money question and the writing question come up together for most families, because both decide whether to launch at all. Below is what the fees actually cost, how the IRS treats the money, and how to write a page that explains the need without feeling transactional.
Table of Contents
- How much does GoFundMe actually take?
- Who should start the fundraiser, and how should the money move?
- Is the money taxable — for the recipient or the donor?
- When does a large gift trigger paperwork?
- What should the campaign page actually say?
- Frequently Asked Questions
How much does GoFundMe actually take?
GoFundMe's own fee page is direct about this: standard fundraisers, including funeral and memorial campaigns, pay 0% in platform fees (GoFundMe's fee explainer). The only mandatory cost is payment processing, which runs 2.9% plus $0.30 per donation in the US. On a $100 gift, the processor takes $3.20, leaving the organizer about $96.80.
That fee is deducted automatically from each transaction as it comes in — it isn't billed to the campaign owner separately, and there's no invoice to pay later. A donor who wants to help offset it can leave a voluntary tip at checkout, but declining the tip doesn't reduce what the fundraiser receives; it only means GoFundMe itself gets nothing extra from that donation. For budgeting purposes, a simple way to estimate the payout is to multiply the goal by about 0.97 and subtract $0.30 per expected donation. A $5,000 goal collected across fifty gifts nets roughly $4,835, not $5,000 — worth knowing before setting a target that's supposed to cover a specific invoice from the funeral home.
Who should start the fundraiser, and how should the money move?
GoFundMe's funeral fundraising guidance recommends confirming the grieving family is comfortable with a fundraiser before it goes live — not everyone wants a public page tied to their loss, so this is a conversation, not an assumption (GoFundMe's funeral fundraising tips). It also recommends inviting the family to link their own bank account as the recipient, so funds transfer directly to them rather than passing through a friend or extended relative first.
This matters for a few reasons: it avoids a middle step where someone else holds the money temporarily, and it avoids the awkwardness of a non-family organizer later redistributing funds by hand. If the immediate family can't or won't set up the account themselves, a trusted organizer can still run the page, but should be transparent from the start about how and when the money will reach the family.
Is the money taxable — for the recipient or the donor?
For the person receiving the funds, the IRS treats donations to a personal GoFundMe campaign as non-taxable gifts, provided donors get nothing of value in return — this position comes from an IRS private letter ruling, since broader guidance on crowdfunding is still limited (NerdWallet's crowdfunding tax guide). A funeral fundraiser fits that description: donors contribute to help with costs and receive nothing back. For donors, the reverse is true: money given to an individual's funeral fundraiser is not tax-deductible, no matter how sympathetic the purpose.
A charitable deduction only applies when the gift goes to an IRS-recognized 501(c)(3), through GoFundMe.org or a certified-charity campaign specifically — a standard personal fundraiser for a family doesn't qualify (NerdWallet's crowdfunding tax guide). One exception: if an employer contributes to an employee's funeral fundraiser, the IRS doesn't treat that as a gift. It's generally reportable as part of the employee's gross income, since gift treatment is reserved for individual-to-individual giving (NerdWallet's crowdfunding tax guide).
When does a large gift trigger paperwork?
Two separate thresholds can surface paperwork, neither of which means tax is owed. The first is the annual gift-tax exclusion: the IRS set it at $19,000 per recipient for 2026, unchanged from 2025.
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If a single donor gives one funeral-fundraiser recipient more than that in a calendar year, the donor must file Form 709, though no actual gift tax is due unless their lifetime exemption is exhausted — a threshold most people never approach (Morgan Lewis's 2026 gift and estate tax update). The second is a 1099-K form, which a payment processor sends when an account receives more than $20,000 and over 200 transactions in a calendar year — federal law reverted to that two-part threshold rather than the lower $600 trigger that had been scheduled to take effect. Receiving a 1099-K doesn't make the underlying money taxable by itself; it's a reporting form, not a tax bill, and gift income reported on it stays non-taxable under the same IRS treatment described above.
What should the campaign page actually say?
GoFundMe's guidance frames the story as a tribute rather than a request: explain who the person was, what they meant to the organizer, and include photos from different points in their life. State plainly what the funds will cover — funeral home costs, burial or cremation, travel for family members coming from out of town — so donors understand exactly where their money goes (GoFundMe's funeral fundraising tips).
A page that works usually includes: After launch, GoFundMe recommends posting updates: progress toward the goal, a favorite memory paired with a photo, and direct thank-you messages to donors. Many families keep the fundraiser open for weeks or months past the service itself, rather than closing it the day after — donations and condolences often continue arriving well after the funeral has happened.
- A short opening that names the person and the loss, without burying it under logistics
- One or two specific memories or photos that make the tribute personal rather than generic
- A plain-language breakdown of costs the fundraiser is meant to cover
- A closing line that thanks donors in advance, rather than only after the goal is hit
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the family have to pay GoFundMe anything upfront to start a funeral fundraiser?
No. There's no fee to create a campaign; the only cost is the per-donation processing fee of 2.9% plus $0.30, deducted automatically as gifts come in.
Can a donor deduct a gift to someone's funeral GoFundMe on their taxes?
No. Gifts to an individual's personal fundraiser aren't deductible. Only donations routed through GoFundMe.org or a certified 501(c)(3) charity campaign qualify for a charitable deduction.
If the fundraiser raises $30,000, does the family owe income tax on it?
Generally no. The IRS treats donations to an individual's campaign as non-taxable gifts as long as donors receive nothing in return, regardless of the total raised.
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