Payroll giving

You can donate money to charities and organisations directly from your pay.

What to do

If your employer offers payroll giving and the organisation you want to donate to is approved by Inland Revenue to be part of the scheme, you need to give your employer:

  • the name of the organisation you’ll be donating to
  • how much you want to donate each pay
  • how often you want to donate (for example one-off, every pay, every second pay — your employer may have their own rules here).

Search IR’s list of approved donee organisations

What happens when you get paid

Your employer will calculate your donation and take it out of your wages before they pay you.

They will also calculate your tax credit (33.33 cents for each dollar you donate) and take this amount off your PAYE for that pay.

Example calculation of payroll giving

If your pay is $2,140 a month before tax and you donate $12:

  1. your usual PAYE would have been $435.48
  2. your tax credit is 33.33% of $12.00, so $3.99
  3. your adjusted PAYE will be $431.49 — so your take-home pay, after tax and your donation, will be $1,696.51.

You will not get a receipt - but you do not have to claim the donations at the end of the year, since the tax credit is instant. You can still make an annual claim using IR’s tax credit claim form (IR526) for other donations you make outside of your pay.

Tax credit claim form (IR526)

Utility links and page information

Was this page helpful?
Thanks, do you want to tell us more?

Do not enter personal information. All fields are optional.

Last updated