The Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme (GASDS) was introduced to help with exactly that.

Here’s what every charity treasurer and trustee should know to make the most of this valuable relief.

What is GASDS?

GASDS allows eligible charities and community amateur sports clubs (CASCs) to claim a Gift Aid-style top-up on small donations of £30 or less, without needing a declaration form from each donor. The top-up is worth 25% of the donation, mirroring standard Gift Aid.

For example:
Imagine a community youth charity runs a stall at a summer fair and collects £300 in small cash and contactless donations from the public, none of whom leave their details. Under GASDS, the charity can still claim £75 from HMRC, taking the total income to £375 with no additional paperwork from donors.

Key Eligibility Criteria

To claim under GASDS, your charity must:

• Be registered by HMRC for Gift Aid.
• Have made a successful Gift Aid claim in the same tax year or one of the two previous years.
• Follow the standard Gift Aid rules, even if some donations don’t require a declaration.

The donations must be:

• £30 or less per donation (in cash or contactless form – cheques, standing orders, or bank transfers don’t qualify).
• Anonymous – GASDS is for donations where you can’t reasonably obtain a Gift Aid declaration.
• Unconditional – the donor must not receive anything in return.

What if someone puts a £50 note in your collection bucket?
That donation must be excluded from the GASDS claim. You can’t average donations or apply the relief to anything above the £30 limit.

How to Claim

GASDS claims are submitted through the same system as standard Gift Aid – either:

• Via the HMRC Charities Online service, or
• Through charity accounting software that integrates with HMRC.

Claims can be made as often as you like, with monthly or quarterly submissions being common for active charities. Repayments typically arrive within a few weeks.

Note: HMRC may defer claims that would result in a repayment of less than £100, to reduce administrative costs. It’s often worth waiting until your eligible donations build up before submitting.

Limits on Claims

Most charities can claim a maximum of £2,000 in top-up payments per tax year, which equates to £8,000 of eligible small donations.

If your charity operates in multiple locations and qualifies under the “community building” rule, you may be entitled to claim more, but this requires more detailed eligibility checks.

Claim Deadlines

GASDS claims must be made within four years of the end of the tax year in which the donations were received. This is based on the standard UK tax year (6 April to 5 April), not your charity’s own accounting period.

So, for donations received between 6 April 2021 and 5 April 2022, the deadline to submit your claim is 5 April 2026

Final Thoughts

GASDS is a smart way for smaller charities to boost fundraising income without extra admin. To make the most of it:

• Keep accurate records of small donations.
• Ensure all standard Gift Aid requirements are met elsewhere.
• Don’t miss the four-year deadline based on the tax year.
• Consider delaying submission until your claim exceeds £100.

If you’re not currently claiming under GASDS, it might be time to review your fundraising processes and check what’s being left on the table.