Date errors, DD/MM/YY and the earliest donation date

The format

HMRC asks for donation dates as DD/MM/YY, for example 05/04/26 for 5 April 2026. Problems usually come from:

• Dates stored as text in another format, such as "2026-04-05" from a payment platform, or American "04/05/2026".
• Times included with the date, such as "05/04/2026 14:32".
• Dates pasted from another spreadsheet that look right but are stored differently (see ASM errors).

Which date to use

• A single donation: the date you received it.
• Regular or aggregated donations on one line: the date of the last one.
• Sponsored events: the date the sponsorship money reached the charity.

No future dates

A donation date cannot be later than the date you submit the claim. HMRC's technical rules for Charities Online include a specific error for this (error 7040). Check for typing slips, such as 2062 instead of 2026.

The earliest donation date box

At the top of the schedule there is a box for the earliest date of the donations in the claim. HMRC's rules require it whenever you are claiming donations. For aggregated lines, the template notes it can be earlier than any date shown in the table, because the earliest small donation in the group may be older than the line's date.

Old donations

HMRC says you need to claim for a donation within 4 years of the end of the financial period you received it in. Check older donations are still in time. See the 4 year rule.

Donor Schedule reads common date formats, converts them to real date cells shown as DD/MM/YY, fills in the earliest date box, and warns you about future and very old dates.