Charity finance · Tax

Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme (GASDS) — calculator and guide

Free calculator that shows your maximum claim, the 25% top-up you'd receive, and whether the 10× matching rule is capping you. Plus the plain-English rules on what counts as a small donation.

Published by ·Last updated 15 July 2026·5 min read

Work out your GASDS top-up

Calculates the standard-method ceiling, its 25% top-up and the 10× matching limit. The standard cap is £8,000of small donations per tax year. If penalty, community-building or connected-organisation rules may apply, the checker routes you to HMRC’s detailed method instead.

1. Has HMRC charged the organisation a Gift Aid or GASDS penalty that affects either of the last 2 tax years?

A penalty blocks GASDS for 2 tax years. A suspended penalty, or one overturned on appeal, does not count.

Answer the questions above to see whether the standard calculator applies and, if it does, your GASDS ceiling.

What counts as a small donation

HMRC’s definition is narrow and worth knowing precisely:

  • £30 or less.A single donation of £30 qualifies; £31 doesn’t.
  • Cash, contactless or chip and pin. Coins, notes, or an in-person card payment. Standing orders, direct debits, cheques, online transfers and gifts in kind do not qualify.
  • Banked in a UK bank account. Money kept in petty cash without being banked is ineligible.
  • Given to your charity. Not money collected on behalf of another organisation, and not money already eligible for Gift Aid via a fundraising platform that processes it separately (JustGiving, Enthuse etc. handle their own Gift Aid).

The matching rule, plainly

You can’t claim GASDS on more than 10 times the gross value of Gift Aid donations successfully claimed on for the same tax year. Do not enter the 25% tax repayment. Two examples:

  • Gift Aid claimed on £200 of donations → matching limit is £2,000 of small donations → top-up of £500
  • Gift Aid claimed on £800+ of donations → the matching rule no longer reduces the standard £8,000 cap → top-up of £2,000

Practical implication for tiny charities: if you only collect cash (no Gift-Aid-declared donations at all), you can’t claim GASDS. The fix is usually to start collecting at least one or two Gift Aid donations per year to unlock GASDS — successfully claiming on a £20 Gift Aid donation creates £200 of matching capacity.

Community buildings election (most small charities can skip)

The default £8,000 cap is per charity. An alternative — the community buildings election — applies the £8,000 cap separately to donations collected at each qualifying community building: a place open to the public where the charity carries out its purposes for at least 10 beneficiaries on at least six occasions per tax year (charitable activities, not fundraising events).

Worth checking if:

  • You’re a religious charity with one or more places of worship (churches, mosques, gurdwaras, synagogues)
  • You run a Scout / Guide / cadet hut where regular weekly meetings happen
  • You run multiple buildings where charitable activities (not just hire-outs) occur on a regular schedule

Charities with fewer than 2 qualifying community buildings use the standard £8,000 method. With 2 or more, local-authority-area, connected-charity and election rules affect the best method. See HMRC Chapter 8 before submitting the first claim for that tax year.

How to claim, in practice

  1. Keep a simple log of small-donation income — the date, the source (collection plate / bucket appeal / contactless reader), the total banked. HMRC may ask for it.
  2. Claim via HMRC Charities Online— the same service you use for Gift Aid claims. There’s a separate GASDS section on the claim form.
  3. Claim within 2 years of the end of the tax year the donations were collected. Donations from 2025/26 must be claimed by 5 April 2028.
  4. HMRC pays into your charity bank account typically within a few weeks of submission.

Common GASDS mistakes

  • Forgetting the matching rule. Charities sometimes claim the full £8,000 cap without realising the gross value of Gift Aid donations claimed on that year was too small to support it.
  • Including ineligible donation types. Standing orders and cheques are the most common ones treasurers accidentally include.
  • Not banking promptly.Cash sitting in petty cash for months can’t be claimed under GASDS — it has to be banked in a UK bank account.
  • Missing the connected-organisation rules. Common control plus the same or substantially similar purposes can make charities or CASCs connected. Chapter 8 then determines whether the cap is shared or the community-building rules apply.

Frequently asked

What is the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme (GASDS)?

A top-up payment from HMRC for charities and CASCs on cash, contactless and chip-and-pin donations of £30 or less, where collecting a Gift Aid declaration isn't practical. At the current 20% basic tax rate, the top-up is 25p per £1 without a declaration. The standard cap is £8,000 of small donations per tax year (= £2,000 top-up); community-building and connected-organisation rules can change it.

What is the matching rule?

Your GASDS claim can't exceed 10 times the gross value of Gift Aid donations received and successfully claimed on for the same tax year. This is the donation value, not HMRC's tax repayment. If you successfully claim Gift Aid on £500 of donations, the matching limit is £5,000 of small donations (= £1,250 top-up). Under the standard method, £800 of Gift Aid donations unlocks the full £8,000 cap.

What counts as a 'small donation'?

A cash, contactless or chip-and-pin donation of £30 or less, given to a UK charity or CASC without a Gift Aid declaration for that donation. Cash must be banked, and card receipts credited, into a qualifying UK account. Standing orders, direct debits, cheques, bank transfers and gifts in kind don't qualify.

Do I need an HMRC declaration from the donor?

No. That's the whole point of GASDS — it's for small, anonymous-feeling donations where collecting a Gift Aid declaration is impractical. You just need to keep a record of how much you collected and when.

What's the community buildings election?

An alternative to the standard £8,000 method for charities with qualifying community buildings. A building must host charitable activities for at least 10 beneficiaries on at least 6 occasions in the tax year. Charities with 2 or more qualifying buildings may be able to use a separate £8,000 limit for each building, subject to local-authority-area and connected-charity rules. Read HMRC Chapter 8 before choosing a method; CASCs cannot use the community-building rules.

How long do I have to claim?

Up to 2 years from the end of the tax year in which the donations were collected. So donations collected in 2025/26 must be claimed by 5 April 2028. Don't wait — back-claiming GASDS is a common low-hanging fruit for small-charity treasurers.

What disqualifies a charity from GASDS?

A Gift Aid or GASDS penalty normally blocks GASDS for 2 tax years, unless the penalty is suspended or overturned on appeal. Without a successful Gift Aid claim on donations from the same tax year, the 10× matching limit is £0. The organisation must also be an eligible charity or CASC recognised by HMRC, and each small donation must meet the scheme conditions.

How do I actually claim?

Via HMRC Charities Online, the same service used for Gift Aid. Enter the eligible small-donation totals and, where applicable, the community-building information. Check the matching, connected-organisation and community-building rules before submitting.

Related guides

Sources

General information, not tax advice. Connected-charity rules, community-buildings election and historic claim adjustments can change the result for specific cases. For non-trivial claims, get the calculation reviewed by your charity’s accountant or check directly with HMRC’s charity helpline.