The Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme (SDS) allows charities to reclaim tax on certain small donations without requiring a Gift Aid Declaration. SDS rules are set by HMRC and may change, so always review the latest guidance before submitting a claim.
At the time of writing, HMRC rules allow claims on:
Cash donations of £30 or less.
Contactless card donations of £30 or less (on or after 6 April 2019).
Up to £2,000 per tax year (or £1,250 for earlier years).
📌 Note:
SDS claims can only be submitted for the previous tax year or earlier. Donations in the current tax year can be submitted after the tax year closes.
Identify Eligible Donations
To process SDS donations efficiently, you may want to:
Create a dedicated constituent (e.g., Collection Box)
Record donations as anonymous where appropriate
Create dedicated Payment Methods for SDS donations
Mark these Payment Methods as not eligible for standard Gift Aid, helping keep SDS donations separate from regular Gift Aid claims.
Create a Transaction List for SDS Donations
Set up a Transaction List using the following filters to identify eligible donations within a specific tax year:
Type = Allocation.
Gift Aid Status = Empty.
Allocation Amount ≤ 30.
Date Paid ≥ start of tax year (e.g., 6/4/2019).
Date Paid ≤ end of tax year (e.g., 5/4/2020).
Product = Donation.
Payment Method = your SDS-specific method (e.g., Collection Box)
If you use multiple Payment Methods, group them with OR.
Once created, this list can be run whenever needed to check progress or year-to-date totals.
Reclaim the Tax Under SDS
You should submit an SDS claim when:
Your eligible donations exceed HMRC’s annual limit, or
You have received all donations for the tax year.
Before claiming:
Run your SDS Transaction List.
Download or report on the results to keep an audit record.
Then, navigate to Financial, click Gift Aid and enter:
Total eligible SDS donations
If your total exceeds HMRC’s limit, enter the maximum allowed, not the donation total.
Tax year the claim relates to.
Your SDS claim is submitted alongside your main Gift Aid claim.
Ready to Claim
When your claim moves from Active Claim to Ready to Claim, Donorfy displays a confirmation message showing your SDS claim details.
SDS Claims in Previous Claims
When reviewing a submitted claim under Financial, Gift Aid, Previous Claims, any SDS details associated with the claim will appear in the claim’s status message.