myTax 2026 Gifts or donations

Things to know

To claim a deduction for gifts or donations you made, you need written evidence, such as a receipt, from an organisation that has a deductible gift recipients (DGR) status.

Your receipt will usually indicate whether you can claim a deduction for the gift or donation. If you're not sure, you can check with the organisation. If you're still not sure, you can check the DGR status of an organisation at ABN Look-up: Deductible gift recipientsExternal Link.

Amounts you can claim

The amount you can claim as a deduction depends on the type of gift. You can claim a deduction for:

• voluntary gifts of money $2 or more made to an approved DGR organisation, including
  • donations you made through your employer's payroll system (known as 'workplace giving')
  • net contributions of more than $150 for a fund-raising event (see Further conditions for a tax-deductible contribution)
  • bucket donations
    • you can claim a total tax deduction of up to $10 for those donations for the income year without a receipt
    • to claim donations of more than $10, you need a receipt
• a donation of property or shares – there are different rules depending on type and value
  • a donation to an approved DGR organisation of shares listed on an approved stock exchange that are valued at $5,000 or less that you acquired at least 12 months before making the gift
  • donating recently purchased property to a DGR
  • property we value at more than $5,000
• a gift under the Heritage and Cultural programs – there are special circumstances where donations can also be deductible
  • Heritage gifts
  • Donating under the Cultural Gifts Program
  • Claiming conservation covenant concessions
• contributions of $2 or more, up to $1,500, to
  • a registered political party
  • an independent candidate in an election for parliament
  • an individual who was an independent member of parliament during 2025–26 or, in limited circumstances, had been an independent member

You can find more detailed information in Gifts and donations. See Claiming political contributions and gifts for more information about the rules for deductions for contributions and gifts to registered political parties and independent candidates and members.

If you obtained a valuation for a deductible donation of property, you may be able to claim a deduction for the cost of that valuation. Don't show it at this section, go to Cost of managing your tax affairs.

What you can't claim as a gift or donation

You can't claim a tax deduction for donations made to social media or crowdfunding platforms unless they were a registered DGR.

You can't claim a deduction for a gift or donation if you received something in return – for example, raffle tickets or dinner, except in certain fund-raising events. For more information, see Further conditions for a tax-deductible contribution.

If you receive a token item for your donation you can still claim a deduction. Token items are things of no material value that are used to promote the DGR, such as lapel pins, wristbands and stickers.

If you make donations under a salary sacrifice arrangement, you can't claim a deduction for the donation in your tax return.

For a list of items that you can't claim a deduction for, see What you can't claim.

Record keeping

You'll need receipts of all the tax-deductible gifts, donations and contributions you want to claim or a signed letter from eligible organisations confirming the amount of your donation or contribution.

However, if you made one or more small cash donations each of $2 or more, to bucket collections – for example, to collections conducted by a DGR for natural disaster victims – you can claim a total tax deduction of up to $10 for those donations for the income year without a receipt.

In some cases, you can also use other records for substantiation, such as for:

• donations made on the web or phone over $2, your web receipt or credit card statement is sufficient
• donations through third parties, such as banks and retail outlets, the receipts they give you are also sufficient
• contributions through 'workplace-giving', your income statement or payment summary shows the amount you donated.

You can find more detailed information in Keeping records for gifts and donations.

You can download the ATO app myDeductions for easy and convenient record-keeping in future years.

For information about the rules and what records you need, see Tax deductible donations:

• for cultural, environmental and heritage property gifts
• when entering into conservation covenants
• if you choose to spread over 5 years your deduction for certain types of gifts.

Completing this section

We:

• pre-fill your tax return with gifts and donations information you uploaded from myDeductions
• show your workplace-giving amounts from the Income statements and payment summaries section.

Check them and add any gifts or donations that haven't shown or pre-filled.

To personalise your tax return to show gifts or donations, at Personalise return, select:

• You had deductions you want to claim
• Gifts, donations, interest, dividends, and the cost of managing your tax affairs

To show your gifts or donations, at Prepare return select 'Add/Edit' at the Deductions banner.

At the Gifts or donations banner:

1. For each gift or donation expense not shown or pre-filled in your tax return, select Add and
   • enter Your description
     To assist in record keeping, add a short description of your expense (for example, the deductible gift recipients name).
   • enter the Amount
     If you made donations in a joint name, only include your share.
2. Select Save.
3. Select Save and continue when you have completed the Deductions section.

You can find more detailed information about gifts and workplace giving programs in:

• Taxation Ruling TR 2005/13 Income tax: tax deductible gifts – what is a gift
• Workplace giving programs for employees.