Section 80G Deduction 2026: How Much You Can Actually Claim on Donations

By Nitish Bharadwaj · Published Jul 15, 2026 · 5 min

Section 80G lets old-regime taxpayers deduct donations to approved charities and relief funds, but the rules are more layered than most assume. Some funds get a full, uncapped 100% deduction; most registered trusts are capped at 50%, subject to 10% of adjusted income. Cash donations above ₹2,000 get zero deduction. Since 2021, the NGO must file Form 10BD and issue Form 10BE, or your claim can be rejected despite a valid receipt. This guide covers the deduction tiers, the paperwork, and where donors confuse it with Section 80GGC.

Section 80G is one of the most-assumed, least-understood deductions on the old-regime side of an ITR. Most donors know it exists; far fewer know that the deduction rate depends entirely on which fund you gave to, that a donation above ₹2,000 in cash gets zero benefit, or that a perfectly valid-looking receipt can still get your claim rejected if the charity itself skipped a filing you never see.

Old Regime Only — Confirm This Before You Assume Anything

Section 80G, like 80C and 80D, is available only if you file under the old tax regime. If you've opted for the new regime — now the default unless you actively choose otherwise — donations you make get no tax benefit at all, however large or well-documented. This is worth stating plainly, since taxpayers who've stuck with old-regime deductions for home loan interest or 80C often assume every Chapter VI-A deduction survives in some reduced form under the new regime. For 80G, it doesn't survive at all.

The Four Deduction Tiers

Not every donation gets the same treatment. Section 80G splits into four categories based on which fund or institution receives the money, and the difference between them is significant.

The overwhelming majority of everyday donations — to a registered NGO, a school, or a religious trust's repair fund — fall into Category 4: only half the donation is deductible, and only up to 10% of your adjusted gross total income (gross income minus most other deductions and capital gains taxed at special rates). Donors who assume every rupee given to charity is fully deductible are usually wrong by half, and sometimes capped further by the income limit on top of that.

The ₹2,000 Cash Limit

Any single cash donation above ₹2,000 gets zero deduction on the entire amount — not just the portion above ₹2,000. A ₹10,000 cash donation to an eligible trust gets you nothing under Section 80G; the same ₹10,000 paid by cheque, UPI, card, or bank transfer gets the full applicable deduction. Donations of ₹2,000 or below can still be made in cash without losing the benefit.

The Paperwork That Actually Voids Claims: Form 10BD and 10BE

Since FY 2021-22, every institution receiving 80G-eligible donations must file Form 10BD — a statement listing each donor's name, PAN, address, and donated amount — with the tax department by 31 May following the financial year. The institution must then issue the donor Form 10BE, a certificate confirming what was reported. That Form 10BD filing is what populates your Form 26AS and Annual Information Statement (AIS) with the donation record the tax department cross-checks against your ITR claim.

Common Mistakes That Get 80G Claims Rejected

• Donating to a trust that isn't registered under Section 80G(5) at all — verify the registration before donating, not after
• A receipt with a missing or expired 80G registration number — the registration must be valid on the date you donated, and older lifetime approvals have since been replaced by time-bound ones requiring periodic renewal
• Any single cash donation above ₹2,000 — full disallowance, not a partial one
• Assuming a trust's Form 10BD filing happened automatically — it doesn't always, and the deduction depends on it

Don't Confuse This With Political Donations — That's Section 80GGC

Donations to a registered political party or an electoral trust are not covered under Section 80G at all — they fall under Section 80GGC for individuals (80GGB for companies). The rules there are stricter in one specific way: 80GGC disallows cash and in-kind donations entirely, whereas 80G at least permits cash up to ₹2,000. If you're donating to a political party expecting an 80G-style deduction, claim it under 80GGC instead, and pay by a traceable mode regardless of amount.

What Changes for FY 2025-26 — And What Doesn't

The deduction rates, the ₹2,000 cash limit, and the qualifying-limit calculation are all unchanged for the return you're filing now. The one real Budget 2025 change is on the NGO's side, not the donor's: small charitable trusts now get a 10-year Section 12AB registration validity instead of 5 years — but the separate 80G donor-deduction registration itself still renews on its own 5-year cycle, so this doesn't change anything about verifying a trust's 80G status before you donate.

If you're building out your full old-regime deduction stack, our guides to Section 80D health insurance premiums, Section 80E education loan interest, and the complete old vs new regime comparison cover the other deductions that only apply if you've stayed with the old regime.