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Guide for claiming donation tax credits
This article was written by our friends at Supergenerous. Supergenerous automates the process of claiming back a charitable tax rebate.
Did you know you can claim 33.33% on donations you have made to charity? Not many Kiwis do, which is why close to $250 million goes unclaimed in New Zealand every year.
We’ve pulled together the below guide, to explain what’s required and help make the process a little bit easier to understand.
Who can claim donation tax credits?
Anyone claiming as an individual (rather than a trust, partnership or company). You need to have earned taxable income during the tax year you are claiming donation tax credits for and you need to be a New Zealand tax resident during the tax year you a claiming a donation tax credit for (1 April to 31 March).
What donations are claimable?
- Donations of $5 or more.
- Donations to a New Zealand-registered charitable organisation. (You can search for registered charities here).
- Donations made to an IRD Approved Donee. (You can search for IRD Approved Donees here).
- One-off donations or regular giving (monthly or ongoing donations).
What donations are not claimable?
- Charity shop purchases or any purchase where you receive goods or services in return.
- Street appeals where a donation receipt has not been issued or the donation total is less than $5.
- Donations that provide any direct benefit to you or your family or have been given via a will.
What time range can I claim for right now?
You can claim donation tax credits for the past four years of giving. Right now, you can claim for donations made in financial years:
- April 2021 to 31 March 2022
- April 2020 to 31 March 2021
- April 2019 to 31 March 2020
- April 2018 to 31 March 2019
When can I claim for donations made in the current financial year?
After April 1st 2023, donations made in the financial year 1st April 2022 to 31st March 2023 can be claimed.
What do I need to prove in order to claim?
Proof of donation in the form of a receipt or annual tax receipt. The receipt needs to include the following:
- Your name, or your spouse or partner’s name,
- amount and date of the donation,
- the stipulation that the receipt is for a donation,
- a signature by an authorised person (e.g. charity CEO),
- the organisation letterhead or official stamp,
- the organisation’s IRD number or Charity Services number.
Where can I find my donation receipts?
Check your inbox, mail or contact the organisation you donated to and they’ll recreate it for you. Most organisations will usually have a tax receipt contact on their website. However, most charities will automatically send out your annual tax receipts via email or mail in March-April.
Can I claim for school donations?
You can claim donations to most schools and parent-teacher associations.
What are considered school donations?
A general donation to the school, voluntary contributions, donations for curriculum-related items including class trips or classroom equipment. Donations to schools where a donation receipt is issued (or the donation is identified as ‘donation’ within a receipt from the school).
What are not considered school donations?
- Direct fees of any kind, including:
- tuition fees,
- private school fees,
- exam fees,
- membership fees for school groups or tertiary education fees.
- Costs of activities that are not part of the school curriculum.
- Costs of materials for projects to be completed at home.
How can I claim my donation tax credit with the IRD?
Use your IR account with the IRD to submit donation receipts, do it all at once or throughout the year. To claim your donation tax credit with the IRD, go to IRD website.
Is there an alternative to claiming my donation tax credits with the IRD?
Yes! If the above seems like a lot of work, or you don’t keep track of any of your receipts – then we’d recommend checking out our partner, Supergenerous. An epic Kiwi social enterprise with an online platform that does all the work for you.
They also have a ‘do-gooder’ option that offers you the choice to donate your tax credits back to the charitable organisations you care about as a new donation – which is claimable again the following tax year.
How do they make claiming easier?
With Supergenerous, you can sign up or log in, list who you’ve donated to over the past four years, enter your contact details, IRD number, sign to authorise Supergenerous to act as your Tax Representative (for only the organisations you listed).
They’ll do all the heavy lifting, going out to your favourite causes and retrieving your receipts and lodge your claims with the IRD.
From there, they’ll send you updates along the way and, based on your chosen outcome, will either refund you the tax credits or donate them back to the charities/schools you donated to on your behalf.
Want to find out more on how Supergenerous makes claiming tax credits for donations easier than claiming through the IRD? You can check out their blog here.
The Seed Hunter Tribe and Supergenerous working together for good
You can choose to allocate a percentage of your pay to charity throughour donation page.
Then make your donations go even further by heading over to Supergenerous and donating your 33% tax rebate back to the charity again – easy!