Approved NFPs
To be tax deductible, the contribution must be made to a deductible gift recipient (DGR).
Who can claim?
A tax deduction for a contribution can only be claimed by an individual taxpayer.
Approved donation types
- Money over $150 (at a fundraising auction donors can only claim a deduction for contributions of money).
- Property purchased during the 12 months before making the contribution and valued at more than $150.
- Property valued by us at more than $5,000.
- Shares:
- acquired at least 12 months before making the contribution
- valued between $150 and $5,000
- in a listed public company
- listed for quotation on the Australian securities exchange.
Claim limits
For a contributor to claim a tax-deductible contribution, the benefit they receive must be:
- no more than $150 and,
- no more than 20% of the value of the contribution.
See also:
Eligible events
For a contributor to claim a tax-deductible contribution, the donation must be for an eligible fundraising event, which is a DGR fundraising event conducted in Australia, including:
- fetes, balls, gala shows, dinners, performances and similar events
- events involving sales of goods if selling these goods is not a normal part of the supplier's business.
DGRs must run fewer than 15 events of the same type in one financial year for donation to remain tax-deductible.
Political donations
Fundraising events held by political parties are ineligible for this concession. Political gifts and contributions are subject to their own rules in order to be deductible.
See also:
Example 1 – Claiming a deduction when paying with cash
Mel pays $420 to attend a charity dinner. The value of the dinner provided was $80. Her deduction is worked out by taking the cost of the ticket and subtracting the value of the dinner: $420 − $80 = $340. It is an allowable deduction because the value of the benefit ($80) is less than $150 and not more than 20% of her contribution (which would be 20% of $420 = $84).
End of example
Example 2 – When the benefit exceeds 20% of your contribution
Bernie buys a ticket for $400 to a gala performance organised by a DGR.
The performance is normally open to the public for $100 a ticket.
Therefore, the benefit Bernie receives is $100, which is less than the limit of $150. So at this stage: Ticket price $400 − benefit $100 = $300 tax deduction.
However, the value of the benefit must not be more than 20% of his contribution: 20% of $400 contribution = $80.
So given the benefit is $100 and 20% of Bernie's contribution is $80, he cannot claim a tax deduction.
End of example