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Tax relief on donations to certain sports bodies

Who can claim the tax relief?

Donations from individuals

When an individual makes a donation you, as the approved sports body, can claim the tax relief, if authorised by the donor. An individual for this purpose means:

  • a person who pays tax under the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) system
  • or
  • a person who pays tax under self-assessment, or who is jointly assessed with a spouse or civil partner that pays tax under self-assessment.

You cannot claim the tax relief if the individual making the donation does not authorise you to do so. To make a claim you must:

  • request a Form SPR1 from the donor, if you are an approved sports body
  • or
  • request a Form SPR2 from the donor, if you are a National Governing Body (NGB)
  • and
  • complete a Form 847A and submit it through the Revenue Online Service (ROS). Further details on how to submit a claim for donations made after 1 January 2025, will be provided soon. 

The relief is calculated by grossing up the donation at the rate tax was paid by the individual. The amount of the refund cannot be more than the amount of tax paid by the donor for the same year. 

Note

For a donation to qualify for tax relief, it is not enough to be an approved sports body. You must also have either an approved project, or a qualifying project, as appropriate.

  • Example

    John makes a donation of €600 to an approved sports body in 2024. The approved sports body has an approved project for 2024. It has been authorised by John to claim a refund of the tax John has paid.

    In 2024, John paid tax at the higher rate of 40%. This means that the donation of €600 is 60% of the total donation.

    To calculate the relief, the total donation is grossed up as follows: (€600/60)x100 = €1000.

    The refund amount that can be claimed by the approved body is (€1000-€600) €400.

    Once John has completed the appropriate certificate, the approved sports body can claim the refund.

    If John only paid tax of €350 in 2024, then the maximum refund the approved sports body can claim is €350.

Donations from companies

An approved sports body cannot claim tax relief on donations from a company. The company should claim the donation as an expense when calculating their total income or profit. In this case, there is no grossing up arrangement.

The relief cannot be claimed where there is no approved, or qualifying, project, as appropriate.

Receipts

You must provide a receipt to all donors who make a donation, whether or not they are also donating their tax relief to the sports body. The receipt must contain the following information:

  • The name and address of the individual or company making the donation.
  • The amount of the donation.
  • The date the donation was made.
  • The name of the approved sports body that received the donation
  • The Games and Sports (GS) number of the approved sports body that received the donation.
  • The approved project number, or qualifying project number, as appropriate.
  • The signature of authorised officer.

The receipt must be signed and dated. The receipt must also state that the donation was made in respect of a specified approved project or a qualifying project. 

Next: What is a relevant donation?

Published: 19 September 2025 Print this page

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