R68 (withdrawn): what replaced it

Who needs it

• Charities and community amateur sports clubs (CASCs) recognised by HMRC for tax purposes that want to claim Gift Aid or tax back on other income such as bank interest.
• Charities without internet access, who use the paper ChR1 instead.

What you need before you start

• Your charity's HMRC reference and postcode, and either the customer account number or the last 4 digits of the charity's bank account, to enrol for Charities Online.
• The activation code HMRC posts after you enrol: it can take a week to arrive and is valid for 28 days.
• A schedule of donations with a valid Gift Aid declaration behind each one.
• Eligible software for claims of more than 1,000 donations; the spreadsheet takes up to 1,000 per schedule.

How to file R68

1. 1Check the charity is recognised by HMRC for tax purposes.
2. 2Add Charities Online to the charity's HMRC online account and activate it with the posted code.
3. 3Prepare the schedule of donations in the spreadsheet or your software.
4. 4Submit the claim online, or post form ChR1 if you can't claim online.
5. 5Keep the records for 2 years after the claim deadline.

What replaced R68

HMRC announced in June 2013 that it would stop accepting Gift Aid claims on R68(i) forms from 30 September 2013, and that charities would use the Charities Online service. Charities without internet access use the paper ChR1 form instead.

GOV.UK's how-to-claim guidance lists the two routes today: Charities Online, through software or a spreadsheet of donations, or form ChR1 by post, which you get from the charities helpline.

Time limits and repayment

Claims must be made within 4 years of the end of the financial period the donation was received in. For trusts that period is the tax year; for CASCs, charitable incorporated organisations and limited companies it's the accounting period. Small Donations Scheme claims on cash donations must be made within 2 years of the end of the tax year they were collected in.

HMRC pays by BACS, usually within 4 weeks for online claims and 5 weeks for ChR1 claims.

What Charities Online covers

Through Charities Online you can claim Gift Aid, including under the Small Donations Scheme, and tax back on other income such as bank interest. Keep your records for 2 years after the claim deadline.

Common mistakes

• Sending an old R68 form. HMRC hasn't accepted R68(i) claims since 30 September 2013.
• Using the spreadsheet for more than 1,000 donations in one schedule. HMRC requires software above that.
• Letting the activation code expire. It's valid for 28 days.
• Missing the shorter Small Donations Scheme deadline, which is 2 years rather than 4.