IR526 form — Tax credit claim form (donations)
Claims the donation tax credit for gifts of money made to approved donee organisations.
The three things that matter
| Time limit | 4 years, counted from the 1 April after the tax year you paid the donation in |
|---|---|
| How most people claim | myIR under Tax credits, with receipt images — the paper form still works |
| How much you get back | 33⅓% of what you gave, and no more than 33⅓% of your taxable income |
Who needs to complete it
- Individuals (not trusts, partnerships or companies) who donated money to an approved donee organisation, earned taxable income in the same tax year and were a New Zealand tax resident at any time in it.
- People claiming school donations — the contribution has to be a genuine donation, not a payment for a service such as materials, trips or exam fees.
- Anyone claiming payroll-giving top-ups outside what was already credited through payroll.
Filling it in, section by section
Your details and tax year
Name, IRD number, bank account for the refund, and the tax year the donations fall in. Donations are claimed in the year they were PAID, not the year the receipt was issued.
Donation details
List each receipt: organisation, date and amount. The organisation has to be on IRD's approved donee list — being a charity is not by itself enough.
Receipts
Every claimed donation needs a receipt showing it was a gift. Keep the originals; IRD can ask for them after paying the credit.
Filled in: a worked example
Mere gave to three approved donee organisations during the year and did not submit the receipts through myIR as she went.
| On the form | What goes in it | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Box 2 — Tax year | The year ending 31 March in which the donations were PAID | Not the year you are claiming in. A receipt sent in late still applies to the year the donation was made. |
| Boxes 3, 4 and 5 | School and kindergarten, donee religious organisation, and other donee organisations — kept apart | Three separate boxes and they are not interchangeable. Only school or state-run kindergarten payments that go to the general fund belong in Box 3. |
| Boxes 6 and 7 | Add Boxes 3, 4 and 5 into Box 6, then divide Box 6 by 3 for Box 7 | Box 7 is the arithmetic the form asks for, not an amount you are guaranteed. Box 6 is itself limited to your taxable income for the year (ITAA 2007 s LD 1(3)), so an oversized claim is trimmed BEFORE the division, not after — which is why the cap bites harder than "capped by your income" sounds. |
| Boxes 9 to 11 | A bank account, or a transfer to an income tax account | The credit can be transferred to your own or someone else’s income tax account. It cannot be transferred to a donee organisation — donating it has to go through the organisation directly. |
| Receipts | Stapled to the form, unless already submitted online | Each receipt has to name you or your partner, show the amount and date, state plainly that it is a donation, carry an authorised signature and the donee organisation’s official stamp. |
Then what? Posted to Inland Revenue with the receipts attached. Confirmation of the credit arrives within twelve weeks — unless an IR3 return is still outstanding, in which case the claim waits for the return.
What goes wrong
| Mistake | What it costs you |
|---|---|
| Claiming payments that bought something. | School fees, raffle tickets, auction purchases and koha with strings attached are not gifts and get disallowed on review. |
| Claiming more than your taxable income for the year. | The credit is limited by your taxable income, so a large donation in a low-income year is partly wasted. Spreading donations across years, or having the higher earner in a couple claim, usually recovers more. |
| Double-claiming payroll-giving donations. | Donations given through payroll giving already received their credit in your pay. Claiming them again on an IR526 creates a debt when IRD reconciles. |
| Leaving old years unclaimed. | The four-year window closes quietly. Once it passes the credit is gone regardless of how good the receipts are. |
If something changes after you've handed it in
The IR526 is not a one-off. These are the situations that send you back to it, and what each one actually requires.
- You find a receipt after you have already claimed
- Send it in. A receipt can be submitted within four tax years of the date of the donation, and the credit applies to the year the donation was made, not the year you submitted it.
- Your donations came to more than your taxable income
- Split the receipts with your spouse or partner — you claim up to your income and they claim the rest. Their details go in Box 8.
- A donee organisation returns your donation
- Contact Inland Revenue. Any donation tax credit you received for it has to be repaid.
- You gave through payroll giving at work
- There is nothing to claim here — the credit already came through your pay. Payroll giving donations cannot go on an IR526.
Work out the numbers first
The IR526 only records a decision — these do the arithmetic behind it.
Frequently asked questions
What is the IR526 form used for?
Claims the donation tax credit for gifts of money made to approved donee organisations.
Where do I get the IR526 form?
Download the current April 2026 edition straight from Inland Revenue: IR526 PDF on ird.govt.nz. Most people now claim in myIR under "Tax credits", uploading receipt images, rather than posting the paper IR526. Claims run per tax year and the window runs four years from the 1 April after the tax year the donation was paid in (Tax Administration Act 1994 s 41A(6)), so a forgotten year can still be caught up.
Claiming payments that bought something — what happens?
School fees, raffle tickets, auction purchases and koha with strings attached are not gifts and get disallowed on review.
Claiming more than your taxable income for the year — what happens?
The credit is limited by your taxable income, so a large donation in a low-income year is partly wasted. Spreading donations across years, or having the higher earner in a couple claim, usually recovers more.
Double-claiming payroll-giving donations — what happens?
Donations given through payroll giving already received their credit in your pay. Claiming them again on an IR526 creates a debt when IRD reconciles.
Leaving old years unclaimed — what happens?
The four-year window closes quietly. Once it passes the credit is gone regardless of how good the receipts are.
How do I change my IR526 after I've handed it in?
Send it in. A receipt can be submitted within four tax years of the date of the donation, and the credit applies to the year the donation was made, not the year you submitted it. Most changes work the same way — see the full list of triggers on this page.
Other IRD forms
IR330 — Tax code declaration
Tells your employer which tax code to use so the right amount of PAYE comes out of each pay.
IR330C — Tax rate notification for contractors
Tells the payer what withholding rate to deduct from schedular payments to a contractor.
KS2 — KiwiSaver deduction form
Tells your employer which KiwiSaver contribution rate to deduct from your pay.
IR3R — Rental income schedule
The rental property schedule that attaches to an IR3 return, setting out income and expenses per property.
IR334 — Employer registration
Registers a business as an employer so it can file payday returns and pay PAYE.
See the IRD forms index, or browse every form on ird.govt.nz.