What it is
Under the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme (GASDS), charities and CASCs can claim a top-up payment on small donations of £30 or less. It covers cash, and contactless card donations from 6 April 2017. You do not need to know who the donors are or collect Gift Aid declarations.
Who can claim
For donations collected from 6 April 2017, HMRC says you must:
- have claimed Gift Aid in the same tax year as the top-up payment you want to claim
- not have had a penalty on a Gift Aid or GASDS claim in the current or previous tax year
You cannot claim on donations that have a valid Gift Aid declaration, on membership fees, or on a £30 part of a larger gift.
How much you can claim
- The top-up is worked out like Gift Aid. HMRC's example: on £8,000 of small donations, the top-up is £2,000.
- The most you can claim on is the lower of £8,000 a tax year, or 10 times the Gift Aid donations you claim on (the "matching rule"). HMRC's example: £100 of Gift Aid donations lets you claim on £1,000 of small donations, a top-up of £250.
- Charities with community buildings may be able to claim on more. Connected charities can share an allowance. See HMRC's guidance for those rules.
Records
- How much was collected, including each denomination of coins and notes.
- The date of the collection.
- That no single donation was more than £30.
- For contactless donations, the records produced by the card terminal.
HMRC says two people should ideally count the cash, and you should keep the records for 6 years from the end of the tax year they relate to.
How and when to claim
You claim through Charities Online, giving the total of your small donations. The deadline is 2 years from the end of the tax year you collected them in, which is shorter than the 4 years for Gift Aid. See how to claim online and claim deadlines.
Not the same as aggregated donations
Aggregated lines on the Gift Aid schedule are for donations of £20 or less that do have a Gift Aid declaration. GASDS is for small donations without one. See aggregated and sponsored donations.
Donor Schedule does not build GASDS claims. Its aggregated lines are for donations you hold declarations for, so take out card reader or bucket donations without a declaration before you build your schedule.
Sources: Claim top-up payments for the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme, Claiming Gift Aid: how to claim and HMRC schedule spreadsheet guidance, all on GOV.UK.
This page is general guidance based on HMRC's published guidance on GOV.UK, linked above, checked on 21 October 2026. It is not tax advice, and HMRC's own pages take priority if they change. Donor Schedule is not affiliated with HMRC.
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