A third of every donation, back from IRD
Before you start
Go and get these — it makes the rest quick
Your receipts, and nothing else.
- Donation receipts for the last four tax years
- The total you gave in each year — one number per year is all we need
- Paper or email both count; a receipt usually says "donation tax credit" on it
On a phone? Write the numbers down, or have the document next to you on paper. Swapping between tabs while holding a figure in your head is where people lose their place.
No receipts? Start anyway — the first screen gives you the wording to ask every charity to reissue them, which is routine for them.
Takes a few minutes, saves as you go, and you can stop and come back. Checking is free whatever it finds.
The detail, if you want it
Every receipted donation of $5 or more to an approved charity — including most school donations — earns a 33.33% tax credit. Industry estimates put the unclaimed pile around $250m a year (that figure comes from a donation-claiming business, not IRD, so treat it as a flavour of scale rather than gospel). What is not in dispute: the window is four years, it is rolling, and donations from the 2022-23 tax year stop being claimable on 31 March 2027.
This checker does the arithmetic and hands you the claim steps. You file it yourself in myIR or on paper — we never ask for a login, and your figures never leave this page.
What counts, what doesn't
Counts: donations to registered charities, most school donations, religious organisations, many overseas-aid funds — where you got nothing material in return. Doesn't: raffle tickets, event entry, school fees for tuition or camps, crowdfunding a person (Givealittle pages for individuals mostly do not qualify unless run by a donee organisation). When in doubt, the receipt itself usually says "donation tax credit" on it.
Source: IRD — donation tax credits. From 1 April 2027 a $100,000 annual donation cap applies — IRD expects it to affect about 350 people, so almost certainly not you.