Before your next Gift Aid claim: five checks for charities
HMRC introduced a more streamlined online claim journey at the beginning of September 2026. The screens now break the process into smaller steps, while the requirements for making a claim remain unchanged.1
For a small charity, that makes this a good moment to review the information behind the claim. These five checks can help you find gaps before you sign in to Charities Online.
1. Fix the period you are claiming for
Choose a clear start and end date, then use the same period in your donation export, accounts and HMRC schedule. This reduces the chance of including a donation twice or missing one between claims.
Charities already listed on Wonderful.org can download donation and Gift Aid data for a chosen date range from the Donation data section of their Wonderful account.2 Save the original export with the date in its filename before making any working changes.
Your accounting year end can affect how you group regular or aggregated donations. If your year ends on or after 30 September 2026, it is also worth checking the new charity accounting thresholds before your next trustee review.
2. Match every donation to a valid declaration
A donor declaration must identify the charity and donor, describe the gift, and confirm that the donor agrees to Gift Aid being claimed and has paid enough UK Income Tax or Capital Gains Tax. HMRC says charities need to keep a record of declarations for six years after the most recent donation claimed under them.3
Check that each claimed donation has a declaration and a clear link back to the donor. If your fundraising team needs a short eligibility refresher, share Gift Aid in 60 seconds before the next appeal.
3. Remove payments that do not qualify
Gift Aid covers qualifying gifts of a donor's own money. Money collected from other people, raffle payments, event tickets and purchases of goods or services need different treatment. A declaration alone does not make an ineligible payment eligible.
Review refunds, cancelled declarations and any donor corrections before building the final schedule. Keep a short note explaining each exclusion so the next person can follow the decision.
4. Protect the HMRC schedule
HMRC's Gift Aid schedule accepts up to 1,000 donation entries. It has fixed worksheet names and file formats, and changing them can stop the file attaching correctly.4 Work from a fresh HMRC template and follow its field rules for names, addresses, postcodes and dates.
Keep the untouched Wonderful export beside the completed HMRC schedule. This gives you a source record and a submission record rather than one file that has been repeatedly edited.
5. Record the submission and follow-up
Charities Online shows a date, time and reference number after submission. HMRC says the reference can help if you need to contact them, although it does not confirm that payment has been made.5 Save that confirmation with the schedule, declarations and reconciliation record.
Give one person responsibility for checking that the repayment arrives and resolving any query. You can add the same owner-and-date routine to the 30-minute autumn appeal check used by your fundraising team.
Prepare the evidence before you sign in
Choose the claim period today. Download the matching Wonderful donation data and trace five Gift Aid rows back to their declarations. If those five are clear, complete the same check across the full claim before opening Charities Online.
This article provides general information, not tax or accounting advice. Gift Aid eligibility and record-keeping depend on your charity's circumstances and current HMRC rules.
Footnotes
- HMRC, September 2026 charities newsletter. Read the newsletter.
- Wonderful support, exporting donation data. Read the support guide.
- HMRC, Gift Aid declarations. Read the declaration guidance.
- HMRC, Gift Aid schedule spreadsheet. Read the schedule guidance.
- HMRC, claiming through Charities Online. Read the online claim guide.