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Charitable Donation Scheme

  1. Overview
  2. What is an approved body?
  3. How to become an approved body?
  4. What is a qualifying donation?
  5. Claiming tax relief on donations
  6. How does an approved body claim the relief?

Claiming tax relief on donations

Donations from individuals

When an individual donates, the approved body may claim the tax relief if authorised by the donor.

As a donor, there is no obligation to permit an approved body to claim tax relief in respect of your donations.

Where you allow the charity to claim the relief, you will not be able to claim a refund of the same tax.

You can help an approved body to claim tax relief on your donation by completing an: 

The form should be provided directly to the charity.

If you donate to more than one charity, you can complete a certificate for each organisation.

Calculating the relief on donations from individuals

The relief is calculated by grossing up the donation at the specified rate. The specified rate is currently 31%. This is explained in the following example.

  • Example 1

    Joan donates €1,000 to an approved body in 2020. The approved body can claim a refund of the tax Joan has paid.

    The tax rate is 31%, so this means that the donation of €1,000 is 69% of the total donation.

    To calculate the relief, the total donation is grossed up as follows:
    (€1000/69) x 100 = €1449.27.

    The refund amount that can be claimed by the approved body is €449.27.

    Once Joan has completed either the Enduring Certificate or Annual Certificate, the approved body can claim the refund.

The amount of the refund cannot be more than the amount of tax paid by the donor for the same year. So, in example 1, if Joan only paid tax of €350 in 2020, then the maximum refund the approved body can claim is €350.

Donations from companies

When a company makes a donation to an approved body, it is the company that claims the relief. There is no grossing up arrangement in this case.

Calculating the relief on donations from companies

  • Example 2

    Company X donates €1,000 to an approved body in 2020. The Corporation Tax rate is 12.5%, so the relief that the company can claim is €125 (€1,000 x 12.5%).

The approved body has the benefit of receiving €1,000, but the cost to the company of making the donation is only €875 (€1,000 - €125). The company simply claims a tax deduction on the donation as if it were a trading expense. 

Revenue publishes details of all bodies authorised to operate the Charitable Donation Scheme.

Next: How does an approved body claim the relief?

Published: 15 January 2024 Print this page

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