You can use GoFundMe for legal fees, and the platform openly permits legal defense fundraisers with one significant carve-out: campaigns for the defense of someone charged with a violent crime are not allowed. Beyond that rule, the harder questions are practical ones. How will the IRS treat the money? Will donations knock you off Medicaid or SSI? Can what you write on the campaign page be used against you in court? And how does your lawyer accept money that came from strangers on the internet without running into an ethics problem?
What GoFundMe Allows and What It Costs
GoFundMe’s terms of service permit fundraisers to cover legal costs, but the platform removes campaigns tied to the defense of a person accused of a violent crime once charges are filed. If that person is later acquitted, they can start a new campaign to recoup expenses already paid. Campaigns that promote hate, violence, harassment, or discrimination are also barred, and GoFundMe can take a fundraiser down without warning; when that happens, donors are typically refunded automatically.1GoFundMe. GoFundMe Terms of Service
Every donation carries a 2.9% payment processing fee plus a flat $0.30, taken out before the money reaches you. A $100 gift arrives as roughly $96.80.2GoFundMe support. Learn About GoFundMe Fees You do not have to wait for the campaign to end to access funds. GoFundMe permits rolling withdrawals, and bank transfers generally take two to five business days to land.3GoFundMe. Common Fundraising Questions Plan withdrawals ahead of any payment deadline your attorney has given you.
The Biggest Risk: Waiving Attorney-Client Privilege
Privilege protects confidential communications between you and your lawyer, and it survives only as long as those communications stay confidential. A campaign page is public. When you sit down to write a compelling appeal for donations, it is tempting to explain what your lawyer told you, what your options are, or what your strategy will be. That kind of disclosure can destroy the privilege covering those communications.
Once privilege is waived, opposing counsel can demand production of what you disclosed, and potentially related communications you did not intend to share. Courts can treat public disclosure to donors the same way they treat disclosure to any other non-privileged third party.
Keep your campaign description factual and general. Describe the type of case, explain that you need financial help, and stop. Do not repeat your lawyer’s advice, weigh your legal options in writing, or telegraph strategy. If a friend or family member runs the campaign for you, make sure they understand these limits too. A well-meaning update that quotes something your lawyer said in confidence can waive privilege just as effectively as if you posted it yourself.
The same discipline applies to campaign updates over the life of the case. Stick to milestones already visible in the public record: a filing was made, a hearing is set, the case settled. Skip your lawyer’s read on the case, how a deposition felt, or what settlement numbers are being discussed. Opposing counsel can read your GoFundMe page as easily as your supporters can. Run any update past your attorney if you are unsure.
How Your Lawyer Handles Money From Donors
Your lawyer has independent ethical obligations when fees come from someone other than the client. Under ABA Model Rule 1.8(f), adopted in some form by most states, a lawyer can accept third-party payment only if you give informed consent, the arrangement does not interfere with the lawyer’s independent judgment or the attorney-client relationship, and information about your representation stays protected.4American Bar Association. Rule 1.8 – Current Clients: Specific Rules
Individual GoFundMe donors have no mechanism to direct your attorney’s decisions, so the interference concern is smaller here than it would be with, say, an insurer paying for your defense. Even so, your engagement agreement should state that the funding source will not influence case strategy, and you should sign off in writing.
Money paid to your attorney in advance should sit in the firm’s trust account (often called an IOLTA) until the work is performed and billed. That is standard practice for any retainer, but it is worth confirming with your lawyer that crowdfunded money is being handled that way.
Taxes on the Money You Receive
Federal law excludes gifts from gross income. If people donate to your legal defense out of generosity, without expecting anything in return, that money is not taxable income to you.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 102 – Gifts and Inheritances The IRS applies a specific standard: contributions must come from “detached and disinterested generosity.” Crowdfunding money does not automatically clear that bar. If your campaign offers donors something in exchange, or the money looks more like compensation than a gift, the IRS can treat it as income.6Internal Revenue Service. IRS Reminds Taxpayers of Important Tax Guidelines Involving Contributions and Distributions From Online Crowdfunding
You may also receive a Form 1099-K from the payment processor. Under rules reinstated by the One, Big, Beautiful Bill, third-party settlement organizations file a 1099-K when gross payments to you exceed $20,000 across more than 200 transactions in a calendar year. Some states set lower thresholds, and processors sometimes issue the form even when you fall below the federal cutoff.7Internal Revenue Service. IRS Issues FAQs on Form 1099-K Threshold Under the One, Big, Beautiful Bill; Dollar Limit Reverts to $20,000
Getting a 1099-K does not itself mean the money is taxable. It means the amount was reported to the IRS, and you need to account for it on your return. If the funds qualify as nontaxable gifts, you would report the 1099-K amount and then adjust it to show it is not income. Detailed records of who gave what, and how you spent it, make this straightforward if the IRS asks.8Internal Revenue Service. Money Received Through Crowdfunding May Be Taxable; Taxpayers Should Understand Their Obligations and the Benefits of Good Recordkeeping
One point for your donors: they cannot deduct contributions to a personal legal defense fund. The charitable deduction applies only to gifts made to IRS-recognized 501(c)(3) organizations, and a GoFundMe for an individual does not qualify.
Impact on SSI, Medicaid, and Other Benefits
If you receive Supplemental Security Income, Medicaid, food assistance, or Section 8 housing, money that lands in your bank account from GoFundMe counts as a resource. The SSI resource limit for an individual in 2026 is $2,000, or $3,000 for a couple, so even a modest campaign can push you past the threshold and cost you benefits.9Social Security Administration. 2026 Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Fact Sheet
One way to protect eligibility is to have donations deposited into a special needs trust rather than a personal account. Funds held in these trusts are generally not counted for benefit eligibility. A third-party special needs trust, where someone other than the beneficiary sets up and manages the account, is a common structure for crowdfunding. The trust needs to exist before the campaign launches, so the money never passes through your personal account. A special needs attorney can advise on the right structure.
Keep the Money Separate and Documented
Open a dedicated bank account for GoFundMe proceeds before you make your first withdrawal. Mixing donated funds with everyday spending creates accounting problems and makes it nearly impossible to show donors, the IRS, or a court that the money went where you said it would.
Tie every withdrawal to a specific legal expense: the retainer, filing fees, expert witness invoices, deposition transcripts. If you told donors the money would cover legal costs, spending it elsewhere is more than an ethical problem. People have faced criminal theft charges for misusing GoFundMe donations. Keep receipts, keep invoices, and keep a running spreadsheet linking each expense to your case.