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Income tax
Example - Splitting donations with your spouse or partner

Your taxable income is $1,000 but you have donation receipts totalling $1,500.

You're only eligible to claim $1,000. However, if your spouse or partner has taxable income of $500 or more, they can claim the other $500 from the donation receipts.

Example - Splitting donations with your spouse or partner

Your taxable income is $1,000 but you have donation receipts totalling $1,500.

You're only eligible to claim $1,000. However, if your spouse or partner has taxable income of $500 or more, they can claim the other $500 from the donation receipts.

Example - Splitting donations with your spouse or partner

Your taxable income is $1,000 but you have donation receipts totalling $1,500.

You're only eligible to claim $1,000. However, if your spouse or partner has taxable income of $500 or more, they can claim the other $500 from the donation receipts.

You can claim 33.33 cents for every dollar you donated to approved charities and organisations.

You can only claim on donations that added up to the same amount or less than your taxable income during the tax year.

Who can claim  

You can claim donation tax credits if all of the following situations apply to you.

  • You're claiming as an individual and not on behalf of a trust, partnership or company.
  • You earned taxable income during the tax year in which you're claiming a donation.
  • You were a New Zealand tax resident at any time during the tax year, 1 April to 31 March.

What you can claim

You can claim tax credits for donations of $5 or more when the donation:

  • was to an approved charity or organisation
  • did not provide any direct benefit to you or your family
  • was not given, bequeathed, done or appointed by will or made by way of a full or partial debt forgiveness.

Approved donee organisations

Donations to schools

You can claim for donations to most schools and parent-teacher associations.

You cannot claim for:

  • tuition fees
  • private school fees
  • exam fees
  • attendance dues
  • tertiary education fees
  • parent-teacher association membership fees
  • costs for a student doing a voluntary activity which is not part of the school curriculum
  • costs of materials for something a student made at school and took home, such as something made in a woodwork class.

Payments made by parents to private schools

We provide guidance for payments provided to private schools. For further information refer to:

QB 22/08 and QB 22/09 Factsheet GST and Income Tax – Payments made by parents to private schools

QB 22/09 Income Tax – Payments made by parents to private schools and donation tax credits

QB 22/08 Goods and Services Tax – Payments made by parents to private schools

How much you can claim

The total you can claim in a tax year is the lesser of:

  • 33.33% of your total donations
  • 33.33% of your taxable income.

If your total donations were more than your taxable income, you can split your donations with your spouse or partner. You would claim up to your amount of taxable income and your spouse or partner would claim the rest, up to their amount of taxable income.

You can see an example of splitting donations with your spouse or partner in the blue box at the bottom of the page.

Splitting donations with your spouse or partner

When you submit your donation receipt in myIR, let us know how much of it you want to give to your spouse or partner.

We'll make sure your spouse or partner gets this amount. They do not need to submit the receipt themselves.

You can do this even if the receipt is in your name only.

Am I eligible for a tax credit for my donation?

If certain criteria are met, you, as an individual, can claim a donation tax credit on a donation of $5 or more. You cannot claim a donation tax credit on behalf of a company, trust or partnership. Check your eligibility for each donation receipt.
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4-year limit for claiming

For a donation you made, you can submit the receipt at any time within 4 years of:

  • 1 April, following the end of the tax year in which you made the donation, if you have an early or standard balance date
  • the day after the end of your income year, corresponding to the tax year in which you made the donation, if you have a late balance date.

Any credit you are due will apply to the tax year the donation was made, not the year you submitted the receipt.

Balance dates

What needs to be on your receipt

You need a receipt for every donation you want to claim.

The receipt needs to:

  • be in your name, or your spouse or partner's name
  • show the amount and date of the donation
  • clearly state that it's for a donation
  • be signed by an authorised person
  • be on the organisation's letterhead or show its name and official stamp
  • show the organisation's IRD number or registration number with Charities Services
  • show the word 'copy' or 'replacement' if it's a replacement receipt.

If you want to claim for a donation of $5 or more made over the phone, you need a receipt from the approved organisation. A copy of your phone bill is not a receipt.

Other ways to donate

You can ask your employer to deduct donations from your pay and pass them on to approved charities or organisations. We call this payroll giving.

For every dollar you donate, you get 33.33 cents back as a tax credit. The credit reduces the amount of PAYE or withholding tax you pay.

Payroll giving as an employee

Example - Splitting donations with your spouse or partner

Your taxable income is $1,000 but you have donation receipts totalling $1,500.

You're only eligible to claim $1,000. However, if your spouse or partner has taxable income of $500 or more, they can claim the other $500 from the donation receipts.

Last updated: 27 Feb 2023
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