Donation and covenant deductions
If you donate to an eligible environmental or National Trust organisation, or enter an eligible conservation covenant, you can elect to spread (apportion) the donation/covenant deductions against your tax return over up to 5 income years.
For more information refer to subdivision 30‑DB of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997.
You can do this when you:
- gift money of $2 or more, or property valued over $5,000 to an eligible environmental organisation. For property donations, you must get a valuation of the gift through the Australian Taxation Office (ATO)
- enter into a perpetual conservation covenant with an accredited conservation program.
Electing to spread your donation or covenant deductions over multiple years
Complete the relevant apportionment election form to elect to spread your donation or covenant concession over several years, or to vary a previous election.
In the form you will need to state how much of the deduction you will claim each year, for up to 5 years.
Download
Donations to eligible environment and National Trust organisations
Apportionment election form - donations (PDF 211 KB)
Apportionment election form - donations (DOCX 96 KB)
Conservation covenant deductions
Apportionment election form - conservation covenants (PDF 1.55 MB)
Apportionment election form - conservation covenants (DOCX 92 KB)
Send us a copy
Under the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997, a copy of the election form needs to be provided to the Environment or Heritage Secretary.
Email your form to:
Or post your form to:
Office of the Secretary
cc: Apportionment Team
Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water
GPO Box 3090
Canberra ACT 2601
We will respond with an acknowledgement of your submission.
Keep records
You must keep records of your donation and lodgement, including:
- a copy of the completed apportionment form
- the original donation receipt from the recipient body
- the original valuation certificate from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) if the donation was property
- the department’s acknowledgment.
Next steps
You have met your obligation to advise the Secretary and can continue with your claim once you have:
- Provided your election form/s to the department.
- Received an acknowledgement of receipt from us.
Contact
If you need help downloading or submitting your forms, email the Apportionments Team: Apportionment@dcceew.gov.au.
Read more
Election to spread gift deduction on the ATO website