It’s amazing, and emotionally uplifting, to see how generous Australians are when it comes to making donations to help with the bushfire crisis. It is also a good time to be aware that, for your donation to be tax deductible, it must be made to an organisation that has been given official status by the ATO as a Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR). If you are on a high marginal tax rate and know that the donation will give you a year-end tax deduction, that may encourage you to give more.
Most of the major charities are DGRs but sometimes, in times of crisis like this, small groups of people set up local fundraising entities and these might not have registered to be DGRs. Similarly, many of the donation-seeking funds set up online through websites such as GoFundMe will not necessarily be registered as DGRs.
Some people may not be too concerned about this, and may still choose to support the fundraiser that best suits their ethos, no matter whether it gives them a tax deduction. Others may be willing to give more if they know they will get a reduction in their year-end tax.
