How do I set up Charities Online to make claims to HMRC?
- Time1–2 weeks including postal activation codes
- CostFree
- Doing itUsually doable yourself
To make claims to HMRC, a UK charity needs a Government Gateway account enrolled for Charities Online, with its authorised official recorded. You cannot claim anything without this. Activation uses postal codes, so start before you need it. A Gift Aid claim must be made within 4 years, and a GASDS claim within 2 years, the shorter of the two.
Do this first
England and Wales: This page sets out the position in full. Scotland: the same position, with no difference in principle — Charities Online is a UK-wide HMRC service. Northern Ireland: the same position again, for the same reason.
Government Gateway, then Charities Online, then the two roles
A charity sets up three things, in order: a Government Gateway account, then enrolment for Charities Online, then two named roles. Charities Online is HMRC’s online service for charity claims. It is the one route for Gift Aid claims and for the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme (GASDS). The steps are the same for trustees and treasurers in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Enrolment comes after recognition. First apply to HMRC for charity recognition and collect the fit and proper persons declarations from your managers. A Government Gateway account is the general HMRC login every organisation needs first. Once that exists, the charity enrols for Charities Online. Enrolment is also where the charity records two named roles, not one.
The mechanics here are administrative, not legal. The research behind this page did not read HMRC’s own enrolment screens in the same detail as the law elsewhere in this hub. So what follows is kept to what is safely established. It is not a step-by-step walkthrough of a form that can change its wording between visits.
The authorised official and the nominee
The authorised official and the nominee are not the same person by default, and not the same job.
The authorised official is the person HMRC recognises as able to act for the charity on tax matters. Naming them is separate from being a trustee. A claim cannot be made until this is in place.
The nominee is a further, optional role. It lets someone else — a professional adviser, say — submit claims on the charity’s behalf. Mix the two up, or leave one unset by mistake, and a claim goes nowhere. Not because the claim was wrong, but because nobody with the right role sent it.
What replaced the R68i form?
Charities Online replaced the R68i form. HMRC confirmed in April 2026 that the old R68i paper form is no longer used at all, and claims now go through Charities Online. A charity that genuinely cannot claim online uses the ChR1 paper form instead. Sector guidance that still mentions R68i — and plenty still does — is describing a route that no longer exists.
What if the authorised official leaves?
The authorised official may leave the charity — resign, be removed, or move on. HMRC’s process for that case was not established by the research behind this page. So this page does not guess at what happens to Charities Online access, and nothing here should be read as an answer to it. If you are facing that question now, ask HMRC’s own charities helpline directly, rather than relying on a summary written for the general case.
With access set up, the charity can turn to Gift Aid itself: the next step is to design a compliant Gift Aid declaration.
Common mistake: leaving access setup until the first claim is due
It is administrative, so it feels like something that can be done on demand. Activation involves postal codes, and routinely takes longer than expected. Both Gift Aid and GASDS have claim deadlines. GASDS has the shorter one. Set access up while both are comfortably still in time — not while a deadline is already close.
Worked example
Saltmarsh Trust has been collecting Gift Aid-eligible donations for a year, without setting up Government Gateway or Charities Online access. Its trustees assumed access could wait until the first claim was ready.
That nearly cost them the tighter of the two deadlines: 2 years on GASDS, against 4 years on Gift Aid. Once access is set up, both claims are still in time. That is only because Saltmarsh checked before either deadline passed, not after.
What you should have at the end
Working Charities Online access, with the authorised official recorded.
That access, not the HMRC reference number from Step 1, is what lets a claim be submitted. Having one without the other still leaves you unable to claim.
Common questions
Yes, if the charity records them as its nominee when it enrols for Charities Online. The nominee is an optional role that lets someone else, such as a professional adviser, submit claims on the charity's behalf. It is separate from the authorised official, whom HMRC recognises as able to act for the charity.
No. The HMRC charity reference number from recognition does not let a charity claim on its own. A Gift Aid or GASDS claim can only be submitted through Charities Online, with an authorised official recorded. A charity with the number but no access still cannot claim.