Can I claim tax relief on charitable donations?
Answered 11 March 2026
Yes — tax relief on charitable donations is available in the UK, but the rules differ depending on whether you are an individual or a company. Here is a structured answer covering both.
For Individuals — Gift Aid
What the law says
An individual who makes a qualifying donation to a charity is entitled to Gift Aid relief under ITA 2007, s.414. The Income Tax Acts have effect as if:
- the gift had been made after deduction of income tax at the basic rate, and
- the basic rate limit and higher rate limit are increased by an amount equal to the grossed-up amount of the gift.
This means the charity can reclaim the basic rate tax from HMRC, effectively boosting the value of your donation. Higher and additional rate taxpayers benefit from the extended rate bands, reducing the amount of their income taxed at higher rates.
HMRC guidance / practice
HMRC treats Gift Aid donations as if the donor has already deducted basic rate tax from them, allowing the charity to reclaim that tax.
Key conditions for Gift Aid to apply:
- The donor must pay enough UK income tax and/or capital gains tax to cover the amount the charity will reclaim.
- The donor must give the charity a Gift Aid declaration (which can cover individual or multiple donations, and can be backdated up to 6 years).
Relief by tax rate:
- Basic rate taxpayers: no further personal relief to claim — the charity receives the benefit.
- Higher/additional rate taxpayers: can claim further relief by entering donations in the Gift Aid box on their Self Assessment return.
HMRC grosses up Gift Aid donations at the basic rate for all taxpayers regardless of where they live (England, Scotland, or Wales). Higher/additional rate taxpayers receive their correct rate of relief through their reconciliation or SA return.
For Companies — Charitable Donations Relief
What the law says
Under CTA 2010, s.189, qualifying charitable donations made by a company are allowed as deductions from the company's total profits in calculating corporation tax for an accounting period:
- The deduction is made after all other reliefs (except group relief).
- The deduction is capped at the amount that reduces taxable total profits to nil — i.e., it cannot create a loss.
- Relief is only available for donations made in the accounting period concerned.
A "qualifying charitable donation" includes:
- Qualifying payments of money to charity (Chapter 2, CTA 2010), and
- Certain disposals of investments to charity (Chapter 3, CTA 2010).
Note: a payment that is already deductible from total profits (e.g. as a trading expense) cannot also be a qualifying charitable donation.
HMRC guidance / practice
HMRC confirms that qualifying charitable donations are deducted from total profits after other reliefs, and the relief is limited to reducing taxable profits to nil. Further detailed guidance is available at CTM09000.
Excess qualifying charitable donations can also be surrendered as group relief within a corporate group.
In summary: individuals can claim Gift Aid relief (with higher/additional rate taxpayers claiming extra relief via Self Assessment), and companies can deduct qualifying charitable donations from their total profits for corporation tax purposes.
Citation sources
Part 6 Charitable donations relief Chapter 1 Nature of relief Relief for qualifying charitable donations 189 1 Qualifying charitable donations made by a company are allowed as deductions from the company's total profits in calculating the corporation tax chargeable for an accounting period. 2 They are deducted from the company's total profits for the period after any other relief from corporation tax other than group relief and group relief for carried-forward losses . 3 The amount of the deduct
Part 8 Other reliefs Chapter 2 Gift aid The relief Relief for gifts to charity 414 1 An individual who makes a gift to a charity which is a qualifying donation is entitled to the relief set out in subsection (2). 2 The Income Tax Acts have effect in their application to the individual for the tax year in which the gift is made as if— a the gift had been made after deduction of income tax at the basic rate, and b the basic rate limit and the higher rate limit (see section 10 ) and additionally, i
Amounts allowable as qualifying charitable donations can be surrendered and claimed as group relief (CTM80105). Detailed guidance on what constitutes a qualifying charitable donation can be found at CTM09000 onwards. A qualifying charitable donation is a ‘relevant amount’ for the group relief provisions, so can only be surrendered to the extent that the total of the surrendering company’s relevant amounts exceeds the ‘profit-related threshold’ (or ‘gross profit’ in surrendering periods ended bef
Gift aid is tax relief on money donated to UK charities. We treat donations as if the donor had already deducted basic rate tax from them. The charity can then reclaim this tax to increase the value of a donation. Gift aid rules Donors must Pay enough UK income tax and / or capital gains tax themselves to cover the amount of tax the charity will reclaim Give the charity a gift aid declaration A declaration can be made to cover individual donations, a series of donations, can cover donations made
Deductions for qualifying charitable donations, under CTA10/S189, are excluded from the calculation of adjusted corporation tax earnings when determining a company’s tax-EBITDA. Qualifying charitable donations made by a company are allowed as deductions from the company’s total profits in calculating the corporation tax chargeable for an accounting period. Being deducted from the company’s total profits after any other relief from corporation tax other than group relief, the amount of charitable
Part 6 Charitable donations relief Chapter 1 Nature of relief Qualifying charitable donations: meaning 190 1 The following are qualifying charitable donations for corporation tax purposes— a payments which are qualifying payments for the purposes of Chapter 2 (certain payments to charity), and b amounts treated as qualifying charitable donations under Chapter 3 (certain disposals of investments to charity). 2 However, no payment that is otherwise deductible from total profits, or in calculating
From 6 April 2000, all gifts of money by individuals to charity, including Deeds of Covenant, fall within the Gift Aid scheme. There is no longer any lower limit for relief. Purely for the purposes of computing a person’s entitlement to the Married Couple’s allowance, a taxpayer’s Adjusted Net Income (ANI) is reduced by the grossed up Gift Aid donations made during the relevant tax year. To see the conditions and how to calculate the relief see chapter 3 'Gift Aid' and chapter 3.6 'Gift Aid decl