Charitable giving statistics for the UK run into billions of pounds a year. In the year to April 2026, HMRC repaid charities £1.88 billion through Gift Aid alone, up 10% on the previous year, while total tax reliefs for charities and their donors were estimated at around £7.4 billion (HMRC, UK charity tax relief statistics, updated 1 July 2026).
This page draws the main official figures together in one place: how much giving flows through Gift Aid and the wider reliefs, how the totals are moving, and how much is left to charity in wills. Every figure comes from a named HMRC statistical release, with one clearly-marked secondary source for total public donations. Tax figures are current as at July 2026 and are subject to change. This is general information about the data, not advice on any individual gift or estate.
Key charitable giving figures at a glance
The headline numbers below come mainly from HMRC's UK charity tax relief statistics (relief estimates, latest year to April 2026) and its Inheritance Tax liabilities statistics (detailed estate data, latest year 2022 to 2023). Each row carries its own source and reference period. One row is a clearly-marked secondary estimate of total public giving. Tax figures are subject to change.
| Measure | Figure | Source and period |
|---|---|---|
| Gift Aid repaid to charities and sports clubs | £1.88 billion | HMRC UK charity tax relief statistics, year to April 2026 |
| Total tax reliefs for charities and their donors | Around £7.4 billion | HMRC UK charity tax relief statistics, year to April 2026 (estimate) |
| Higher-rate relief claimed by donors | £920 million | HMRC UK charity tax relief statistics, year to April 2026 (provisional) |
| Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme payments | £40 million | HMRC UK charity tax relief statistics, year to April 2026 |
| Payroll Giving relief to taxpayers | Around £40 million | HMRC UK charity tax relief statistics, year to April 2026 |
| Inheritance Tax relief for charitable donations | Around £1.28 billion | HMRC UK charity tax relief statistics, year to April 2026 (estimate) |
| Assets left to charity, exempted from Inheritance Tax | £1.92 billion across 10,800 estates | HMRC IHT liabilities statistics, 2022 to 2023 |
| Total donated to charity by the UK public (secondary) | Around £14 billion | CAF UK Giving 2026, calendar year 2025 (secondary estimate) |
Figures reproduced as published, including HMRC's own rounding. The HMRC releases measure different things (tax repaid or relief cost versus exempted asset value), so their totals are not directly comparable, and the CAF figure is a separately-derived survey estimate rather than an official statistic. Tax figures are subject to change.
Charitable giving through the tax system
A large part of measured UK giving is visible because it passes through the tax system. Gift Aid lets charities reclaim basic-rate tax on donations from UK taxpayers, and it is the single biggest strand of charity tax relief that HMRC pays out. In the year to April 2026, Gift Aid repayments to charities reached £1.88 billion, up 10% year-on-year (HMRC, UK charity tax relief statistics, updated 1 July 2026, subject to change).
Donors benefit too. Higher and additional-rate taxpayers can claim back the difference between their rate and the basic rate on Gift Aid donations, and HMRC's provisional estimate of that higher-rate relief was £920 million for the year to April 2026, an increase of about 10% year-on-year (HMRC, UK charity tax relief statistics, updated 1 July 2026). Smaller routes add to the picture: the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme paid charities £40 million, and Payroll Giving relief to taxpayers was steady at around £40 million over the same year (HMRC, UK charity tax relief statistics, year to April 2026).
The direction of travel
Across the different reliefs, the recent movement is generally upward, though at different speeds. The table below shows the latest year-on-year changes HMRC reports for the year to April 2026. These are estimates, and HMRC cautions that the most recent years carry more uncertainty because a small number of large donations or estates can move a total. Tax figures are subject to change.
| Relief (year to April 2026) | Value | Year-on-year change |
|---|---|---|
| Gift Aid repaid to charities | £1.88 billion | +10% |
| Reliefs to charities (total) | £5.05 billion | +2% |
| Reliefs to donors (total) | £2.34 billion | +7% |
| Higher-rate relief to donors | £920 million | +10% |
| Inheritance Tax relief for donations | £1.28 billion | +6% |
| All charity tax reliefs combined | Around £7.4 billion | +4% |
Source: HMRC, UK charity tax relief statistics commentary, updated 1 July 2026. Figures are HMRC estimates, rounded, and subject to revision.
For a sense of scale beyond the tax data, the Charities Aid Foundation estimates that the British public donated around £14 billion to charity in 2025, with direct debit and standing order the most common ways to give, though it notes that roughly one in five people say they cannot afford to give (CAF, UK Giving 2026, secondary estimate). This is a survey-based figure rather than an official statistic, so it is best read alongside, not merged with, the HMRC totals.
Charitable giving left in wills
Giving does not stop at lifetime donations. Gifts to qualifying charities in a will are generally free of Inheritance Tax, and the exempted amount is one of the clearest official measures of legacy giving. In 2022 to 2023, an estimated £1.92 billion of assets left to charity was exempted from Inheritance Tax, across around 10,800 estates (HMRC, Inheritance Tax liabilities statistics, published 31 July 2025, subject to change).
The tax rules can also reward larger charitable estates. Where someone leaves at least 10% of the net value of their estate to charity, the Inheritance Tax rate on the taxable part falls from 40% to 36% (gov.uk, Inheritance Tax, as at July 2026, subject to change). This sits within the wider framework: each person has a nil-rate band of £325,000, plus up to a further £175,000 residence nil-rate band where a home passes to direct descendants, so an individual can pass on up to £500,000 and a couple up to £1,000,000 before Inheritance Tax applies, with transfers between spouses and civil partners generally exempt (gov.uk, Inheritance Tax, as at July 2026, subject to change). Those thresholds are frozen until the end of the 2030-31 tax year (5 April 2031) (gov.uk, nil-rate bands from 6 April 2028, as at July 2026, subject to change). For the fuller data on bequests, our page on legacy giving trends looks at the charity exemption and reduced rate in more detail, our estate planning guide sets out how wills, tax and giving fit together, and our guide on How to Write a Will covers the basics of a valid will in England and Wales.
What the numbers mean
Read together, the data suggests UK charitable giving is large and, on the latest official figures, broadly growing. Billions of pounds flow through Gift Aid and the wider reliefs each year, and giving left in wills adds well over a billion pounds of exempted assets on top. In our reading, giving is a mainstream activity rather than a niche one, and it is spread across lifetime donations, payroll and legacies rather than concentrated in any single channel.
A few cautions seem worth holding in mind. HMRC's relief figures are estimates that measure the tax cost of reliefs, not the total amount donated, which is larger and harder to capture in full. The different measures move for different reasons, so they should not be added together or treated as one series. HMRC also flags that recent years carry more uncertainty, because a small number of large gifts or estates can swing an annual total, which is why the multi-year direction tends to be more informative than any single figure.
It is also worth separating giving from tax. Many people give, in life or in a will, for reasons that have little to do with the tax rules, and any relief is generally a consequence of that choice rather than the reason for it. How the reliefs apply to a particular donation or estate depends on the amounts, the taxpayer's rate and, for legacies, the wording of the will, so it can be worth discussing with a qualified professional before drawing conclusions.
Estimated total UK tax reliefs for charities and their donors, year to April 2026 (HMRC, UK charity tax relief statistics, updated 1 July 2026, subject to change).