Gift aid income for charities in the UK has risen by 10% year-on-year to £1.88bn, according to new government statistics.
Published today, HMRC’s UK charity tax relief statistics show that gift aid was paid to 67,650 charities in the tax year ending April 2026.
This is about the same number as the previous year but a decrease on 2019’s 73,220.
The total £1.88bn received in 2025-26 is up from the £1.71bn paid to charities in 2024-25 and a 57% increase on the amount received a decade before that.
The statistics show that just under half the value of gift aid payments went to charities that received less than £1m each.
Overall, tax reliefs for charities and their donors stood at an estimated £7.4bn, up 4% year-on-year.
This included £5.05bn of reliefs for charities, up 2% year-on-year, and £2.34bn for donors, a 7% increase on the year before.
Dip in business rates relief
The statistics show that the largest tax relief source for charities remains non-domestic rates, also known as “business rates relief”, estimated to be £2.87bn this year (2024-25: £2.91bn)
At an estimated £1.28bn, inheritance tax relief for donations rose by 6% year-on-year to £1.28bn.
Only around 5% of UK deaths result in an inheritance tax liability: “Those that do may reduce the amount due by giving to charity”, HMRC’s commentary document says.
The higher rate relief on gift aid (a relief at higher rates of tax on individuals’ gift-aided donations) rose by 10% year-on-year to an estimated £920m and was nearly double the £480m recorded in 2014-15.
Money claimed through stamp duty land tax relief, for which charities are eligible for when they buy or lease land or property, fell by 10% (£280m compared with £310m in 2014-15).
Wealthier and older people more likely to donate
Some 1.3 million people declared a donation on their self-assessment return for the tax year ending April 2025, the most recent year for which this information is available, around 2% fewer than the previous year and a stable figure since 2020.
However, the statistics show that the value of their donations rose by around 12% year-on-year, from £4.15bn to £4.66bn.
Some 7% of self-assessment taxpayers earning less than £50,000 declared a donation compared to 37% of those with income over £250,000.
However, donors earning less than £50,000 donated the biggest proportion of their gross income compared with higher earners (3% of their income on average).
Meanwhile, 20% of self-assessment taxpayers aged 65 or more declared a donation. They donated the largest proportion of their gross income (3.5% of their income on average) compared to younger donors.
Female self-assessment taxpayers (13%) were more likely to declare a donation than their male counterparts (11%).
Geographically, self-assessment taxpayers in London and the south east of England were the most likely to donate, with 14% and 15% respectively declaring a donation.
Donors in Northern Ireland donated a higher proportion of their income, 3.8%, compared with 2.4% across the UK.
CAF: Charities still missing out on millions
Philippa Cornish, client relations director at the Charities Aid Foundation, said: “In a challenging economic climate, it’s positive to see the increase in gift aid but we know that charities continue to miss out on millions every year from generous donors who don’t know about or forget to tick the gift aid box.
“Concerningly, the number of people declaring donations on their self-assessment return hasn’t increased even though more people are in higher tax brackets.
“We need to increase awareness of the incentives available for charitable giving in order to increase support for charities from those who are in a financial position to donate.
“We know donors are more likely to give, and give more, when financial advisers raise charitable giving with them.”
