Check you hold declarations
HMRC says you must have a valid Gift Aid declaration for each donation in your schedule, and keep it for your records. Leave out any donation you do not have one for.
Download the right template
Get the Excel or LibreOffice version from GOV.UK, to match the program you use. Check your program's language is set to English UK. See the template and its columns.
Fill in the boxes at the top
Box 1 is the earliest donation date in the claim. Box 2 is only for tax you over-claimed last time, and is blank otherwise (see over-claimed amounts).
Enter one line per donation
Type each donor's title, first name, last name, house name or number, postcode, the donation date and the amount. Leave any field that does not apply blank, and do not leave blank rows. Type or paste values only, rather than pasting formatted cells from another spreadsheet, which HMRC links to "ASM" errors (see ASM errors).
Use fewer lines where HMRC allows
Regular donations from one donor can share a line (see regular donations). Donations of £20 or less from different donors can be aggregated, and sponsored events have their own rules (see aggregated and sponsored donations).
Check the line count
One schedule holds up to 1,000 lines. Anything over that is not attached to your claim. See the 1,000 line limit.
Save it as .ods and keep the tab name
Use Save as and choose OpenDocument Spreadsheet (.ods). Do not rename the worksheet tab R68GAD_V1_00_0_EN, or you will not be able to attach the schedule. See the worksheet name.
Attach it to your online claim
Log in to Charities Online, start your claim and attach the schedule spreadsheet to the online form. If you have more than one schedule, HMRC says you must complete and submit one claim before you start the next.
Before you upload, run through the errors checklist. If you want to skip the typing, Donor Schedule does steps 2 to 7 from your CSV export, and you still do steps 1 and 8.
Sources: HMRC schedule spreadsheet guidance and Claiming Gift Aid: how to claim.
This page is general guidance based on HMRC's published schedule spreadsheet guidance and template, checked on 20 October 2026. It is not tax advice, and HMRC's own pages take priority if they change. Donor Schedule is not affiliated with HMRC.
Let the free checker find these for you
Load your donation export and see every row HMRC is likely to reject, with the reason and the fix. Nothing is uploaded, and you don't need an account.