Tips on donations gifts

You can only claim a tax deduction for gifts or donations to organisations that have the status of deductible gift recipients

For you to claim a tax deduction for a gift, it must meet four conditions:

  • The gift must be made to a deductible gift recipient. We call entities that are entitled to receive tax deductible gifts ‘deductible gift recipients’ (DGRs).
  • The gift must truly be a gift. A gift is voluntary transfer of money or property where you receive no material benefit or advantage.
  • The gift must be money or property, which includes financial assets such as shares.
  • The gift must comply with any relevant gift conditions. For some DGRs, the income tax law adds extra conditions affecting the types of deductible gifts they can receive
  • The amount you can claim depends on the type of gift. For gifts of money, it is the amount of the gift but it must be $2 or more. For gifts of property, there are different rules, depending on the type
  • You cannot claim as a gift or donation items that provide you with some personal benefit, such as:
    • raffle or art union tickets
    • items such as chocolates and pens
    • the cost of attending fundraising dinners, even if the cost exceeds the value of the dinner
    • membership fees
    • payments to school building funds made, for example, as an alternative to an increase in school fees
    • payments where you have an understanding with the recipient that the payments will be used to provide a benefit for you

 

**The above material has been sourced from the Australian Taxation Office. For further information please visit their website