162: No, Not the Tomatoes! | Are Nonprofit Startup Costs Tax-Deductible Donations for the Founder?
You scraped together your own money to start a brand-new nonprofit. You're out the money, but can you at least take a tax deduction?
Meghan and I are back with a question from a new nonprofit founder who wants to know if the startup cash they put in before getting their 501c3 status counts as a tax-deductible donation. It's one of the most common questions we hear from new founders, and the answer involves a pretty handy IRS rule most people don't know about.
Real Listener Question:
"In June 2025, two friends and I created a housing placement nonprofit and each put our own money in to get it…
The skinny
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