Most of us have been regularly doing something for needy people like donating and doing charity to Orphanages, NGOs, and Schools etc. It is indeed commendable to donate for the society and people around us. In order to promote and encourage people to donate more, the Government of India has been continually extending its full support towards charitable activities and introducing various types of tax incentives for donors.
In this regard, the Income-tax Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as “Act”) of India raises a helping hand for donors. The section 80G of the Act provides for deductions in respect of donations made by taxpayers. A donor, whether Individual, HUF, Firm or Company etc., can claim deduction for amount donated, subject to certain conditions, while filing his income tax return.
Section 80G of the Income-tax Act, 1961
The section 80G of the Act permits donations made to charitable institutions/trusts and specified funds as a deduction from Gross Total Income before ascertaining Taxable Income. It should be borne in mind that not all donations are eligible to be deducted from the gross total income under section 80G. Only those donations which are made to specified institutions/trusts and in funds qualify as deduction. Moreover, the deduction is not person restricted, i.e. every assessee is eligible to get deduction for donations made by him.
Structure of limit of deduction under section 80G of the Income-tax Act, 1961
According to the provisions of section 80G of the Act, not every donation is eligible for 100% deduction. There are certain conditions which specify the amount of donation that is eligible for deduction under the section. In some cases, 100% donation can be claimed as deduction whereas in some cases only 50% donation can be claimed as deduction. Also, the donation eligible for deduction is subject to qualifying limit of 10% of adjusted gross total income. Whether the 100% or 50% of the amount of donation is eligible for deduction and whether the donation is limited by qualifying depends upon the type of trust, fund or institution to which donation is made. In essence, we can classify the donation eligible for deduction as follows:
- Donations eligible for 100% deduction, without any qualifying limit: The sums paid by an assessee by way of donation for following institutions, trusts and funds* shall be eligible for 100% deduction without any qualifying limit:
- National Defence Fund set up by Central Government;
- Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund;
- Prime Minister’s Armenia Earthquake Relief Fund;
- Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM CARES) Fund;
- National Children’s Fund;
- National Foundation for Communal Harmony;
- An approved University or educational institution of national eminence;
- Any Zila Saksharta Samiti constituted in any district under the chairmanship of the Collector of that district;
- Any Fund set up by a State Government for the medical relief to the poor;
- Army Central Welfare Fund or the Indian Naval Benevolent Fund or the Air Force Central Welfare Fund;
- National Illness Assistance Fund;
- National Sports Fund
- National Cultural Fund;
- Fund for Technology Development and Application;
- Swachh Bharat Kosh;
- Clean Ganga Fund;
- National Fund for Control of Drug Abuse;
*the list is not exhaustive
- Donations eligible for 50% deduction, without any qualifying limit: The sums paid by an assessee by way of donation for following institutions, trusts and funds shall be eligible for 50% deduction without any qualifying limit:
- Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust;
- The Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund;
- Prime Minister’s Drought Relief Fund; and
- Rajiv Gandhi Foundation.
- Donations eligible for 100% deduction subject to limit of 10% of Adjusted Gross Total Income: The following donations shall be eligible for 100% deduction but subject to 10% of Adjusted Gross Total Income:
- Donations made to the Government or any approved local authority, institution or an association to be used for the purpose of family planning; and
- Donations made by a Company to the Indian Olympic Association or a notified association or an institution established in India for the purpose of development of infrastructure or the sponsorship of sports and games in India.
- Donations eligible for 50% deduction subject to limit of 10% of Adjusted Gross Total Income: The following donations shall be eligible for 50% deduction but subject to 10% of Adjusted Gross Total Income:
- Donations to a fund or an institution satisfying the conditions mentioned in Section 80G(5) of the Act;
- Donations to the Government or any approved local authority, institution or an association to be used for any purpose other than promoting family planning;
- Donations to any authority established in India for the purpose of dealing with housing accommodation or planning, development or improvement of cities, towns and villages or both;
- Any corporation established by Central or State Government for promoting interest of members of a minority community; and
- Donations for renovation or repair of any notified Temple, Mosque, Gurudwara, Church or any other place of historic, archeological or artistic importance or a place of public worship in India.
Qualifying Limit and Adjusted Gross Total Income
The eligible donations referred above in 3 and 4 are subject to qualifying limit. The donations made by an assessee under point 3 and 4 above should be totaled and that sum should be confined to 10% of the adjusted gross total income. This is the maximum eligible deduction for donation for the funds mentioned therein.
Where, adjusted gross total income means the gross total income as reduced by:
- Deductions under Chapter VI-A, i.e. from section 80C to 80U, except section 80G of the Act;
- Short-term capital gains taxable under section 111A of the Act;
- Long-term capital gains taxable under sections 112 & 112A of the Act; and
- Any income on which income-tax is not payable.
Conditions required to be fulfilled for claiming deduction for Donations
An assessee claiming deduction in respect of donations made by him during any year should meet below mentioned conditions while filing his annual return:
- The assesse is required to present the proof of payment of such donation;
- The assessee should present the stamped receipt received from recipient trust which shall necessarily express the following information:
- Name, Address and PAN of the donee trust or institution or fund;
- Name of the donor;
- Amount donated (both in figures and words); and
- Registration no. of the trust allotted by Income Tax Department along with its validity.
Some important points
Along with the above conditions, an assessee claiming deduction for donations should keep in mind the following important points:
- The deduction under section 80G is over and above the deduction under section 80C of the Act;
- Deduction under section 80G can be claimed only when donation is made via Cheque, Bank Draft or in Cash;
- With effect from assessment year 2018-19 donations made in cash exceeding ₹2,000 shall not be allowed as deduction under section 80G;
- No in-kind donations such as food, shelter, material, clothes etc. qualify for deduction under section 80G;
- Donations made to foreign trusts and political parties do not qualify for deduction under section 80G; and
- The deduction under section 80G can be claimed whether it has any nexus with the business of the assesse or not.
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