Self assessment - charity donations

M03

Hi all, hopefully a simple one.

The HMRC say:

https://www.gov.uk/donating-to-charity/gift-aid

You can include:

all donations made in the last 4 years

I am trying to work out what is meant by the 4 years. 4 years up to the date you submit your self assessment? 4 previous tax years? Etc

Another website says:

You can claim tax relief up to 4 years after the end of the tax year in which you made the donation

Precisely, for my 2025-26 self assessment, how far back can I go?

Thanks,

Mark

Dazed_and_C0nfused

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6667208/self-assessment-charity-donations

6 April 2025.

M03

I don't think your reply has worked correctly, all I see is my original message quote

DRS1

I think he was telling you when the 25/6 tax year started.

I have no idea how you go back 4 years with charitable contributions. Maybe you have to write to HMRC.

I believe it is possible to make a contribution in this tax year and relate it back to 25/6 by reporting it in your self assessment for 25/6 but that assumes you haven't already submitted the tax return for 25/6. There is a box 8 which reads

"Gift Aid payments made after 5 April 2026 but to be treated as if made in the year to 5 April 2026."

Actually you may not have to put it in 25/6 tax return you may be able to put it in the 26/7 return because there is also a box 7 which reads

"Gift Aid payments made in the year to 5 April 2026 but treated as if made in the year to 5 April 2025" (next year that will be 27 and 26 respectively).

But those boxes only cover the current and previous tax years they don't cover all 4 years.

Dazed_and_C0nfused

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81989559#Comment_81989559

I had put 6 April 2025. That is the earliest you can go back to as far as your 2025/26 tax return is concerned.

If you want to claim relief for donations made in previous tax years you would need to claim those separately. How you do that depends on whether you filed a tax return in the year(s) in question. You would have to look at each year independently and the process for how to claim may differ depending on whether you filed a return or not.

A lot of your original post appears to have ignored this section from the gov.uk page you linked to,

Getting tax relief sooner using your tax return

Famau

excuse me jumping in on this thread…. I have completed my self assessment for 25-26 and put down a sizeable chunk of giftaid donations. This is recorded in my summary but it does not seem to have made any difference to my tax due. I played around with the value entered just out of interest - setting the charity donations to zero - and the calculated tax due was exactly the same as when £700 was entered. I pay tax at 40% so thought there would be some tax benefit. Was I mistaken? Thanks for any thoughts…

Dazed_and_C0nfused

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81989700#Comment_81989700

What box have you added the donations to?

How much into the 40% band are you into?

Has your basic rate band not been increased in your Self Assessment calculation, by the amount of the gross donation (what you paid plus the basic rate tax relief)?

Famau

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81989707#Comment_81989707

Ah - you are quite right. My basic rate limit was increased. My mistake - thanks for clarifying and prompting me to check properly !

Isthisforreal99

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81989783#Comment_81989783

So if your liability didn't change when entering £0 vs £700 then that would suggest you are not in fact a higher rate taxpayer.