How to Donate Unused Concert or Sports Tickets
If you have seats you cannot use, you can give them to someone who would never otherwise get to go, and document the donation properly for your taxes. Here is exactly how it works at TixGiving Foundation Inc., a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
- 1
Confirm the event has not happened yet
We can only accept tickets for events that are still upcoming. Tickets for an event that has already taken place have no charitable use and cannot be receipted.
- 2
Start a donation on the donate tickets page
Create an account (so we can issue acknowledgments in your name) and enter the event, venue, date, and seat details for each ticket. You can submit up to 10 tickets in one batch.
- 3
Choose mobile transfer
For individual donors, official mobile transfer from Ticketmaster, AXS, SeatGeek, or a team app is the standard. You transfer the tickets to an account controlled by TixGiving Foundation, so no photo is required. PDF and printed tickets are accepted mainly from venues, box offices, and other trusted sources, and our team reviews each one before accepting it.
- 4
Enter your own fair market value
You state the value, not us. TixGiving Foundation does not determine or certify what your tickets are worth. If you paid nothing or the tickets were comped, enter $0.
- 5
Transfer the tickets to TixGiving Foundation
After review, transfer the tickets to the Foundation-controlled account we give you. Do not transfer tickets directly to a nonprofit or individual; TixGiving does not offer direct-to-partner transfers.
- 6
We verify receipt and send your acknowledgment letter
Once the Foundation verifies the tickets are in its account, you receive an acknowledgment letter describing the tickets received.
- 7
We offer the tickets to a nonprofit partner
Only after verifying receipt does the Foundation transfer tickets to a vetted nonprofit partner that has accepted them. We may later send you an Impact Update about what happened; it is not a tax receipt and does not change your acknowledgment letter. If we are unable to place tickets before the event, we will let you know and remain grateful for your generosity.
Mobile transfer tickets
Most modern tickets never exist as a file. Ticketmaster, AXS, SeatGeek, and team apps rotate the barcode and only allow transfer to an email address or phone number. That is fine. Choose the mobile transfer option when you submit, and after we approve the donation we send you the exact destination to transfer to. Your receipt is issued from the transfer confirmation rather than a photo.
Do not transfer tickets to anyone before submitting them. A transfer we cannot trace is a donation we cannot substantiate.
Season ticket holders and venues
Donating dozens of seats across a season is a different workflow. Approved venue and season ticket donors can upload a CSV manifest of 50 to 100 tickets at once, and the approval receipt includes a full seat-by-seat manifest. Contact us to be enabled for bulk upload.
Keep reading
- Are ticket donations tax deductible? — IRS substantiation thresholds and who determines fair market value.
- Ticket donation FAQ — answers for donors, season ticket holders, and venues.