Church Donations | Tax deductions | Tax

Are church donations Tax Deductible?

Not all donations to a church are tax-deductible.  So just because the person you sat next to last Sunday says that you can claim the cash you drop in the donation box, it may not necessarily be the case.

Churches are like other charities when working out if you can claim donations made to them.  This means that your church needs to be registered as a deductible gift recipient (DGR) to receive tax-deductible donations that you can claim on your Income Tax return.

To check whether your church is registered as a DGR, go to ABN lookup and enter in the church’s ABN, scroll right down to the bottom of the page, and look for the section that says "Deductible Gift Recipient" 

If they are not registered as a DGR then you can’t claim the donation as a tax deduction.

But just like other donations, if the donation is over $2, you should get a receipt from your church that says that your donation is tax-deductible. 

There will be a section on Gotax Online’s Electronic Tax Return (etax) where you can enter the amount you spent on donations and detail who you donated to. Once you have completed your income tax return you can lodge it via our etax system, then our tax experts will check it over for missed opportunities and lodge it for you. 

In the unlikely event that you get stuck at any time, you can speak to one of our fully qualified accountants via our live chat support or by filling out our contact form.

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Note that the information provided is general in nature and subject to change, please contact one of our professionals who can evaluate your circumstances and provide more accurate advice to your current situation.