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Can i accept donations for my game?

Discussion in 'Getting Started' started by deathchy, Nov 1, 2016.

  1. deathchy

    deathchy

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    I didn't find anything in the licence agreement so; can i put up my Unity made game on a site for free, and let people donate (if they want)? I will be using the free version. Thanks (hope i posted in the correct forum).
     
  2. Schneider21

    Schneider21

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    Sure, why not! You're essentially offering the game as a free service, and asking for donations on a website. Nothing against the rules there!
     
  3. JoeStrout

    JoeStrout

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    Just to be clear, you can also flat-out try to sell your game, even if it's made with the free version of Unity. You'll just need to upgrade if you make over $100k per year (which, let's be honest, is really, really unlikely).
     
    Kiwasi, Ryiah and Schneider21 like this.
  4. deathchy

    deathchy

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    Yes i know i can sell the game, but that means it will be an income which would be very problematic since that is a lot of paperwork and stuff.. I worked freelance for a indie game for a while and wow, never again.. I'm in Sweden which means most of the income will go to the state. Donations on the other hand = all mine, none for the corrupt S*** state.

    Thanks!
     
  5. Schneider21

    Schneider21

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    I was about to admonish you for trying to bypass the tax laws of your country, until I looked it up and saw that income tax in Sweden is an astounding 57%! That's crazy! No wonder you guys have such amazing social programs, though!
     
  6. deathchy

    deathchy

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    You are good, most Swedish people think we only pay around 32%, they are totally mislead.
    The country is falling apart due to mass immigration and crime though.. a country who are openly supporting IS returning soldiers with benefits that many of our young people could only dream of, that is a sick and twisted regime that i do not want to support with ANY money.
     
  7. Schneider21

    Schneider21

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    Well, this is getting dangerously political, so to address the original question: Yes, you are within the legal boundaries of the Unity license to offer the game for free on a website from which you receive donations. Whether or not that's strictly legal within the law of your country is another matter altogether, and one which I'm not qualified to speak on.
     
  8. deathchy

    deathchy

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    Great, good to know. Sorry for the political (sort of) rant. Thanks again.
     
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  9. Kiwasi

    Kiwasi

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    The Unity license doesn't make a distinction between donations and purchases. As long as the total amount of money you get is less then 100K USD, you are good to use personal. Plus will do you up to 200K. And after that you will need pro.

    Its worth noting that the Sweedish government probably also doesn't draw the distinction between donations and purchases. You probably need to declare any donations you get as income as well.

    High personal tax rates aren't a bad thing. Australia's rates aren't as high as Sweden's, but they are certainly up there. But I wouldn't take a lower tax rate if that meant giving up services. I walked into the doctors yesterday after a self inflicted sports injury. The doctor checked my out, including an x-ray. I walked out of the office without paying a cent. That's worth the tax rate any day of the week.
     
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  10. Ryiah

    Ryiah

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    This is definitely something to look into. I have found mention that donations are not taxed in Sweden but it wouldn't hurt to contact someone that is knowledgeable about what is and isn't taxable according to Swedish laws as well as what laws are involved with donations.

    Explaining to your insurance how you managed to injure yourself with a foam sword would be rather awkward. :p
     
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  11. Kiwasi

    Kiwasi

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    It was a foam spear, thank you very much. :)
     
  12. SarthakHShah7

    SarthakHShah7

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    Feb 15, 2017
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    Can I use Unity In App Purchases to make donation ? is it valid or legal ? if there is another way to have donation from within the unity game. I don't want users to go on some website from game then make payment. I want to make payment from game. Please Help me on this.
     
  13. Kiwasi

    Kiwasi

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    I would strongly suggest contacting an accountant. Donations and charities can get complex, especially when there are multiple countries involved.

    Mechanically I see no reason why Unity IAP couldn't be used for donations.
     
  14. Schneider21

    Schneider21

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    Bear in mind, any purchases made through IAP will also be subject to Apple's and Google's 30% cut. I'm not positive, but I think there may be some sort of requirement for disclosure of distribution of funds when you're talking about donations, so I don't know how that would work.

    You'll also have to set up your NPO / charity org details within your publisher settings, which is where you'll get your tax forms sent to.