At the end of the financial year (31 March), sending donation receipts to your supporters is more than just admin.
It’s one of the simplest, but important, ways to acknowledge their contribution. Timely donation receipts can make the difference in who a donor chooses to support. It might seem like a small and frustrating administrative task, but it signals whether an organisation is organised, appreciative, and trustworthy.
And there’s a practical reason too:
donation receipts allow donors to claim a donation tax credit from Inland Revenue Department — meaning they can get back up to 33.33% of their donation.
👉 This guide only applies to charities registered on the Charities Register. Only donations to registered charities are eligible for this tax credit.
Scroll down for a free donation receipt template!
There are two common approaches:
If someone makes a one-off donation, issue the receipt as soon as possible after receiving the money.
If someone donates regularly (e.g. weekly or monthly), you can send one annual receipt.
If you don’t issue receipts often, some of this can feel a bit unclear. Here’s what matters:
A simple unique number for each receipt.
2026-01, 2026-02The total donations received.
🚫 Do not include other items where something was received in return, such as:
Your organisation’s IRD number (same as your GST number if registered).
This helps match the receipt to your organisation.
Your CC number from the Charities Register.
This confirms eligibility for donation tax credits.
Include at least one of:
At minimum:
Ideally also:
(Enough information so the donation can be linked to a real person)
This is important. Donation receipts can be rejected if they are not signed.
The signer should be someone authorised, such as:
From 1 April onwards, aim to send receipts as soon as you can.
Timely receipts mean:
Donation receipts sit right at the intersection of compliance and relationships. They help donors get money back from IRD — but just as importantly, they show that you noticed, recorded, and valued their contribution.
When you send out your donation receipts, it's a great chance to include a link to your annual report or other recent success story that shows the great work of your organisation. It'll help directly link the donor's support to your good work.
If you're a smaller organisation and don't currently have a formal system, you may need to go through your bank statements for the year and find each donation. Highlighters - either on paper or coloured cells in Excel - are your friend!
We’ve put together a simple donation receipt template you can use straight away.
👉 Click here to download the template
Filter transactions in your Good Numbers app to the Donations and Koha category to easily see all donations you've received.
Plus, coming soon, the Good Numbers App will generate donation receipts for you!
Ask Duncan anything — big or small. He’ll get back to you ASAP, and your questions will help improve the information here for everyone.
