Donations: Section 80G and Form 10BE

A donor who has a stamped receipt from a charity naturally expects the deduction to follow. Often it does not, or not in full. The rate may be 50 per cent rather than 100. The amount may be cut down to a tenth of income. A cash gift above Rs 2,000 counts for nothing. And for most charities, the claim is now checked against the charity’s own report to the Department, not the receipt. This guide sets out the donor’s side: the four categories, the qualifying limit, the cash rule and the certificate. The institution’s side, its approval and its annual statement, is in 80G Approval and Donor Statements (Forms 10BD and 10BE).

Which Act governs which year

Financial year 2025-26 (assessment year 2026-27) and earlier. The Income-tax Act, 1961 applies, through section 80G, with rule 18AB of the Income-tax Rules, 1962 (Form No. 10BD and Form No. 10BE).

Tax year 2026-27 onwards. The Income-tax Act, 2025 applies, through section 133, with section 354 for the institution’s approval and rule 190 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026 (Form No. 113 and Form No. 114).

Earlier years stay under the 1961 Act by section 536(2) of the 2025 Act.

Item	1961 Act	2025 Act
Rate: 100 per cent or 50 per cent	s.80G(1)	s.133(1)(a), (b)
List of donees	s.80G(2)	s.133(1)
Qualifying limit, 10 per cent	s.80G(4)	s.133(2), (7)(a)
Cash limit, Rs 2,000	s.80G(5D)	s.133(5)
Money only	Explanation 5	s.133(4)
Claim allowed on the donee’s statement	Explanation 2A	s.133(6)
Donee’s statement and certificate	s.80G(5)(viii), (ix); rule 18AB	s.354(1)(e) to (g); rule 190

Who may claim

Unlike most deductions in this series, section 80G is open to any assessee: individuals, Hindu undivided families, firms and companies. Section 133 says the same: “In computing the total income of an assessee”. A few items are restricted. Donations to the Indian Olympic Association and similar notified bodies count only when given “by an assessee being a company”. Donations to the Clean Ganga Fund count only for a resident.

The four categories

The deduction depends on two questions: is the rate 100 or 50 per cent, and is the donation subject to the qualifying limit? The return’s Schedule 80G is laid out in the same four tables. The ITR-1 validation rules for AY 2026-27 describe them as “100% deduction without qualifying limit”, “50% deduction without qualifying limit”, “100% deduction subject to qualifying limit” and “50% deduction subject to qualifying limit”.

1. 100 per cent, without limit. Section 80G(1)(i) and (2)(a) list these by name, among them:

• the National Defence Fund;
• the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund and the PM CARES Fund;
• the National Children’s Fund and the National Foundation for Communal Harmony;
• a university or educational institution of national eminence approved by the prescribed authority;
• a Zila Saksharta Samiti;
• the Army Central Welfare Fund, the Indian Naval Benevolent Fund and the Air Force Central Welfare Fund;
• the Chief Minister’s or Lieutenant Governor’s Relief Fund meeting the conditions in the Act;
• the National Sports Development Fund, the National Cultural Fund, the Swachh Bharat Kosh and the Clean Ganga Fund, the latter two excluding CSR spending; and
• the National Fund for Control of Drug Abuse.

Section 133(1)(a)(i) to (xxii) carries the same list.

2. 50 per cent, without limit. The Prime Minister’s Drought Relief Fund: section 80G(2)(a)(iii); section 133(1)(b)(i). The Finance Act, 2023 omitted three other named funds from section 80G(2)(a) with effect from 1 April 2024.

3. 100 per cent, subject to the limit. Donations to the Government, or to an approved local authority, institution or association, “to be utilised for the purpose of promoting family planning” (section 80G(2)(a)(vii); section 133(1)(a)(xxiii)). Also a company’s donations to the Indian Olympic Association or other notified bodies for sports infrastructure or sponsorship (section 80G(2)(c); section 133(1)(a)(xxiv)).

4. 50 per cent, subject to the limit. This is where most charities sit:

• any fund or institution approved under section 80G(5) (section 80G(2)(a)(iv)). Under section 133(1)(b)(ii) it must be established in India for a charitable purpose, and be a registered non-profit organisation or a Schedule VII institution “approved under section 354”;
• the Government or a local authority, for a charitable purpose other than family planning;
• housing and town-planning authorities;
• notified corporations for minority communities; and
• the renovation or repair of a notified temple, mosque, gurdwara, church or other place.

These are section 80G(2)(a)(v), (vi), (via) and (b), and section 133(1)(b)(iii) to (vi).

The qualifying limit: 10 per cent of adjusted gross total income

Section 80G(4) provides that where the donations in categories 3 and 4 exceed 10 per cent of gross total income, “the amount in excess of ten per cent of the gross total income shall be ignored”. For this purpose, gross total income is reduced by “any portion thereof on which income-tax is not payable under any provision of this Act” and by every other Chapter VI-A deduction. Section 133(2) applies the same 10 per cent to “the adjusted gross total income”, defined in section 133(7)(a) in the same terms.

The limit is applied to the donations first. The rate is then applied to what is left.

Example (old regime). Gross total income Rs 10,00,000. Other deductions (sections 80C and 80D) Rs 1,50,000. No exempt income. Donations: Rs 20,000 to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund and Rs 1,00,000 to an approved trust.

Step	Amount
Adjusted gross total income (Rs 10,00,000 less Rs 1,50,000)	Rs 8,50,000
Qualifying limit: 10 per cent	Rs 85,000
Trust donation counted (Rs 1,00,000 cut to the limit)	Rs 85,000
Deduction for the trust donation: 50 per cent	Rs 42,500
Relief Fund donation: 100 per cent, no limit	Rs 20,000
Deduction under section 80G	Rs 62,500

Cash above Rs 2,000 gets nothing

Section 80G(5D): “No deduction shall be allowed under this section in respect of donation of any sum exceeding two thousand rupees unless such sum is paid by any mode other than cash.” Section 133(5) is the same. The disallowance is of the whole donation, not only the excess. The ITR-1 validation rules for AY 2026-27 also add up cash entries to the same donee’s PAN, and allow nothing once the total crosses Rs 2,000.

Donations in kind get no deduction at all. Explanation 5 to section 80G says “no deduction shall be allowed … in respect of any donation unless such donation is of a sum of money”, and section 133(4) is the same. Clothes, food or equipment given to a charity do not count, whatever their value.

Form 10BD and Form 10BE: the claim follows the charity’s report

Since 2021, an approved institution in category 4 must do two things after each financial year:

• deliver a statement of the donations it received (section 80G(5)(viii)); and
• give each donor a certificate of the amount donated (section 80G(5)(ix)).

Rule 18AB of the Income-tax Rules, 1962, inserted by Notification No. 19/2021 of 26 March 2021, prescribes:

• the statement in Form No. 10BD; and
• the certificate in Form No. 10BE.

Both are due by 31 May following the financial year in which the donation is received. The e-filing portal’s FAQ on Form 10BD confirms the 31 May date and adds that the institution downloads Form 10BE after filing Form 10BD. The first statements covered donations received in financial year 2021-22, so assessment year 2022-23 was the first year in which donors’ claims could be matched against them.

Explanation 2A to section 80G makes the match decisive. A donor’s claim for a donation to an institution to which section 80G(5) applies “shall be allowed on the basis of information relating to said donation furnished by the institution or fund”, subject to verification under the Board’s risk management strategy. Section 133(6) of the 2025 Act says the same for donations under section 133(1)(b)(ii).

From tax year 2026-27, rule 190 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026 replaces rule 18AB:

• Form No. 113 is the statement and Form No. 114 the certificate;
• both are due on or before 31 May following the financial year (rule 190(6) and (8)); and
• the institution must take together all donations “of the same nature” by one person. A donation recorded in more than one name, with no proportion given, is attributed equally (rule 190(3)).

In practice:

• The PAN given to the charity matters. The statement reports the donation against the donor’s identification. A donation reported under the wrong PAN, or not reported, is a donation for which the claim can fail.
• Form 10BE (Form No. 114) is the document to keep. A receipt issued when the money is paid is not the certificate.
• The fault may be the charity’s, but the deduction lost is the donor’s. The charity’s late fee and penalty are explained in the guide to 80G approval.

The Explanation and section 133(6) apply to donations to institutions approved under section 80G(5) or section 354. The named funds in category 1 are outside them, but Schedule 80G still asks for the donee’s details.

Not available under the new regime

Section 115BAC(2)(i) of the 1961 Act allows no Chapter VI-A deduction other than sections 80CCD(2), 80CCH(2) and 80JJAA. Section 202(2)(a)(xii) of the 2025 Act allows none in Chapter VIII other than sections 124(1) and (2), 125(2) and 146. An individual, HUF, AOP, BOI or artificial juridical person taxed under the new regime gets no deduction under section 80G or section 133.

Where it goes in the return

For AY 2026-27, Schedule 80G lists each donation in one of the four tables, with the donee’s name, address and PAN, and the amount paid in cash and by other modes. The ITR-1 validation rules require:

• the IFSC and the transaction reference number for every non-cash donation;
• a donee PAN that is not the assessee’s own; and
• a section 80G figure in the deductions schedule that does not exceed the eligible amount in Schedule 80G.

What to have ready

• Form 10BE (Form No. 114 from tax year 2026-27) from each approved institution, due by 31 May. Compare the amount and PAN on it with the donor’s own records.
• The donee’s PAN and approval details, which appear on the certificate.
• Bank or UPI records showing each non-cash payment, with the transaction reference and IFSC.
• A list of cash donations, kept to Rs 2,000 or less per donee.
• The gross total income and other deductions, to compute the 10 per cent limit.

After filing

A donation omitted from the return can be added in a revised return; see Belated and Revised Returns. An updated return cannot reduce tax or increase a refund (proviso to section 139(8A); section 263(6)(c) of the 2025 Act). Where the charity’s statement is late or wrong, its correction statement under the proviso to section 80G(5)(viii) (section 354(1)(f) of the 2025 Act) is what puts the donor’s information right.

In order

1. Fix the Act: section 80G and rule 18AB for FY 2025-26 and earlier; section 133 and rule 190 from tax year 2026-27.
2. Confirm the old regime, for an individual or HUF, chosen in a return filed by the due date.
3. Sort each donation into one of the four categories by the donee and its approval.
4. Drop any cash donation above Rs 2,000 and any donation in kind.
5. Compute adjusted gross total income and cap categories 3 and 4 at 10 per cent of it.
6. Apply 100 or 50 per cent as the category requires.
7. Match each donation to an approved institution against Form 10BE (Form No. 114).
8. Enter each donation in Schedule 80G with the donee’s PAN and the payment reference.

The next guide, Rent Without HRA: Section 80GG, deals with the deduction for rent paid by those who receive no house rent allowance.