How to Claim a Charitable Donation on Your Tax Return

Claiming a charitable donation on your Australian tax return is straightforward if you donated to a registered Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) and kept your receipt. You enter the total amount under the Gifts or Donations section of your return — labelled D9 in myTax — and the ATO reduces your taxable income accordingly.

This guide covers what you need before you claim, how to do it in myTax and through a registered tax agent, and a few special situations worth knowing about.

Please note: this is general information only, not financial advice. For advice specific to your circumstances, speak to a registered tax agent or the ATO.

Make a tax-deductible donation to The Fred Hollows Foundation before you lodge.

Before you claim: the three eligibility requirements

To claim a deduction for a charitable donation in Australia, the ATO requires three things to be true.

The organisation must be a registered DGR. Not all charities are Deductible Gift Recipients. Only donations to organisations endorsed by the ATO qualify. The Fred Hollows Foundation is a registered DGR, confirmed on ABN Lookup under ABN 46 070 556 642. For a full explanation of what DGR status means and how to verify it for any charity, see our guide to what is a DGR charity (link to Article 4 when live).

The donation must be a genuine gift. You cannot have received a material benefit in return. Purchasing a raffle ticket, event entry, charity merchandise, or a fundraising dinner ticket does not qualify as a deductible gift — even if part of the proceeds goes to charity. Only a voluntary transfer with no personal benefit counts.

The amount must be $2 or more. There is a minimum donation amount of $2 to claim a deduction. There is no maximum — you can claim every dollar of eligible donations you make in a financial year.

Not sure if your donation qualifies? See Is My Donation to a Charity Tax Deductible?

What records do you need?

You must have a receipt for every donation you intend to claim. Without one, the ATO can disallow the deduction.

A valid tax receipt from a DGR charity should include the charity's name and ABN, a statement that the contribution is a gift (meaning no material benefit was received in return), the date, and the amount paid. The Fred Hollows Foundation issues a tax receipt automatically for every donation, online and offline.

Monthly donations

If you give to The Fred Hollows Foundation through a regular monthly giving program, you do not need to track each individual transaction. The Foundation provides an annual giving statement summarising all contributions made during the financial year. Keep this statement in place of individual receipts.

Workplace giving

Workplace giving and salary sacrifice are two distinct arrangements, and they are treated very differently at tax time.

Workplace giving: You authorise your employer to deduct donations from your after-tax salary and pass them to the charity on your behalf. Your gross salary is unchanged. Because you are donating from income you have already received, you claim the deduction yourself in D9 on your personal tax return, exactly as you would for a direct donation. Your employer's payment summary (also called an income statement) will show the total donated during the financial year — this is your documentation.

Salary sacrifice: Your employer makes a donation to the charity as part of your remuneration package, reducing your gross salary before tax is calculated. Because your taxable income is already lower as a result, you do not claim a separate deduction in D9 on your personal return — doing so would amount to claiming the same benefit twice. These contributions are not entered under Gifts or Donations.

If you are unsure which arrangement applies to you, check your employment contract or ask your payroll team before lodging. For more detail on how workplace giving is treated at tax time, see our workplace and corporate giving guide.

Small cash donations — bucket collections

If you made small cash donations during the financial year — for example, to a bucket collection run by an approved DGR charity — you can claim up to $10 in total for those contributions without a receipt, provided each individual donation was $2 or more. This concession applies only to approved collections; it does not extend to general cash donations.

How to claim in myTax — step by step

Most Australians lodge their tax return through myTax, accessed via myGov. Here is how to enter your charitable donations.

Log in to myGov at my.gov.au and select the ATO service.
Open your tax return for the relevant financial year (1 July to 30 June).
Navigate to the Deductions section.
Select D9 — Gifts or Donations.
Enter the total amount of all eligible donations made during the year. If you have multiple receipts from different DGR charities, add them together and enter the combined figure.
Attach or save your receipts. You do not need to upload receipts when lodging, but you must be able to produce them if the ATO requests them.
Complete and submit your return as normal.

The ATO uses the figure you enter in D9 to reduce your taxable income. You do not need to calculate the tax saving yourself — that is handled automatically once you submit.

How to claim through a registered tax agent

If you use a registered tax agent or accountant to lodge your return, the process is the same — you simply provide your agent with your donation receipts or annual giving statement. Your agent will enter the total in the appropriate deductions section on your behalf.

Most agents will ask for a summary of your deductible donations as part of their standard tax time checklist. If you are a monthly donor to The Fred Hollows Foundation, forward your annual giving statement along with your other tax documents. One document covers the full year.

Tax agents registered with the Tax Practitioners Board are typically eligible for an extended lodgement deadline — often into the following May — so if you are running behind at EOFY, working with a registered agent gives you more time.

Spreading a large donation over multiple years

In some circumstances, you may elect to spread a single donation deduction over a period of up to five income years. This can be useful for larger one-off contributions where claiming the full amount in a single year would exceed what is practical given your tax position.

Your tax receipt from the DGR should indicate whether the gift is eligible for spreading. If you are considering this option, speak to a registered tax agent, as the election must be made correctly at the time of lodgement and cannot easily be undone.

Donations of property and shares

As well as cash, you can donate certain types of property or shares to a DGR and claim a deduction. The rules for these gifts are more complex than cash donations and depend on the type of asset and its value. The ATO has specific valuation rules and gift conditions that apply.

If you are considering a significant non-cash gift to The Fred Hollows Foundation — such as listed shares or real estate — contact The Foundation directly and speak to your tax adviser before proceeding, to ensure the gift is structured correctly and the deduction is fully valid.

EOFY deadline: when your donation must be made

To claim a donation in the 2025–26 tax return, the transaction must be completed on or before 30 June 2026. The ATO uses the date the payment was processed — not the date you lodge your return — to determine which financial year it falls in.

A credit card or direct debit donation made before midnight on 30 June counts for that financial year, even if your bank settles the transaction in July.

For more on EOFY timing, payment methods, and the 30 June deadline, see EOFY Giving Before 30 June 2026.

What you cannot claim

The following are common scenarios that do not qualify as deductible donations under Australian tax law:

Raffle tickets, lottery entries, or sweepstakes — even if run by a charity.

Merchandise purchased from a charity, including pens, badges, or merchandise packs.

Event tickets to charity dinners, galas, or fundraising nights (even if you pay above the market value of the ticket).

Donations made through crowdfunding platforms to unregistered causes.

Gifts left in your will — these are not treated as deductible gifts in the year of giving.

Donations made under a salary sacrifice arrangement — these are handled differently and are not claimed by the employee on their personal return.

If you are unsure whether a specific contribution qualifies, the ATO's Gifts and Donations page at ato.gov.au is the authoritative reference.

Frequently Asked Questions

WHERE DO I ENTER MY DONATION ON MY TAX RETURN?

In myTax, go to the Deductions section and select D9 — Gifts or Donations. Enter the total of all eligible donations made during the financial year. If you use a registered tax agent, provide your receipts or annual giving statement and your agent will enter this for you.

DO I NEED A RECEIPT FOR EVERY DONATION?

Yes, for all cash donations of $2 or more you need a receipt or written record from the DGR. The exception is small cash donations to approved bucket collections — you can claim up to $10 in total for these without individual receipts. For workplace giving, your employer's payment summary is sufficient.

CAN I CLAIM MONTHLY DONATIONS IN ONE GO AT TAX TIME?

Yes. Add together all your monthly donations made between 1 July and 30 June and enter the total in D9. If you give to The Fred Hollows Foundation monthly, your annual giving statement will show the full-year total so you do not need to calculate it yourself.

WHAT IF I LOST MY RECEIPT?

Contact The Fred Hollows Foundation directly. We can issue a replacement receipt for any donation made to us. Do not claim a deduction without documentation — the ATO may request evidence at any time.

HOW MUCH OF MY DONATION CAN I CLAIM?

You can claim the full amount of every eligible donation, with no upper limit. There is a minimum of $2 per gift. The deduction reduces your taxable income — it is not a refund of the donation amount. For an example of how the maths works, see our guide to tax-deductible giving in Australia (link to Complete Guide when live).

WHEN IS THE DEADLINE TO LODGE MY TAX RETURN?

If you lodge your own return through myTax, the standard deadline is 31 October. If you use a registered tax agent, the deadline is typically extended to May of the following year. Your donation must have been made by 30 June for it to count in that financial year — lodgement timing does not affect this.

CAN I CLAIM A DONATION I MADE IN A DIFFERENT FINANCIAL YEAR?

No. Donations are claimed in the financial year the transaction occurred. You cannot carry a donation forward to the next year's return. If you missed claiming a donation in a previous return, you can request an amendment through the ATO.

Claim your Fred Hollows Foundation donation this tax time

The Fred Hollows Foundation is a registered DGR charity, which means every eligible donation you make is fully tax deductible. We issue automatic tax receipts for every contribution, so you have everything you need when it comes time to lodge.

If you have not yet made your donation for the 2025–26 financial year, there is still time before the 30 June deadline. For just $25, you can help fund sight-restoring surgery — and claim the deduction when you lodge.

Donate to The Fred Hollows Foundation before 30 June and claim your tax deduction.