Hernandez v. Commissioner, 490 U.S. 680 (1989), is a decision of the United States Supreme Court[1] relating to the Internal Revenue Code § 170[2] charitable contribution deduction.

The payments for auditing or training sessions do not satisfy the "contribution[s] or gift[s]" inquiry necessary for deductibility under IRC §170 because it amounted to a quid pro quo for the taxpayer.

[6] Hernandez and other taxpayers argued that the quid pro quo determination did not apply to this situation because the benefit they were receiving through the auditing and training was purely religious.

The opinion noted that there have been no instances where the IRS has previously denied deductibility on a quid pro quo basis even though the benefit was entirely spiritual or religious.

Because of the difficulty in putting a dollar value on intangible religious benefits, the Government had, up until this case, chosen to ignore the quid pro quo argument and allow these deductions.