Is the purchase of Girl Scout cookies® tax-deductible?
No and Yes. • No, if the customer keeps the cookies. Individuals who buy Girl Scout cookies® and take the cookies home, or consume them, have purchased a product at a fair market value. For this reason, no part of the price of a box of Girl Scout cookies used in this way is tax-deductible. • Yes, if the customer leaves the cookies with Girl Scouts or purchases them for Operation Taste of Home. Many Girl Scouts ask customers to pay for one or more boxes of cookies for use in their community service project, for example, collecting for a food pantry. The customers not receiving any Girl Scout cookies® do not benefit directly from paying for them. Those individuals may treat the purchase price of the donated cookies as a charitable contribution. Individuals with specific questions should seek advice from a tax accountant.
