If you donate to charity and claim a Section 80G deduction when filing your income tax return, something has changed for AY 2026-27 — and missing it could cost you the deduction entirely. You've probably been donating the same way for years — name, PAN, amount, done. The government has now added two new mandatory fields to the ITR forms, and they're asking for something more specific: proof that the payment actually happened.
Two things are now required in Schedule 80G of your ITR:
(a) The transaction reference number — this is the UPI reference ID, or the reference number from a cheque, IMPS, NEFT, or RTGS transfer.
Then comes the second requirement, which catches many people off guard.
(b) The IFSC code of the bank where the payment was sent — not your bank, but the receiving charity's bank branch code.
The update appeared in the AY 2026-27 filing utility released for the financial year ending March 31, 2026. Both fields are mandatory in the new ITR forms for 2026-27, and leaving them blank or entering incorrect details could put the entire deduction at risk.
Earlier, filers needed to provide the donee's name and address, their PAN number, the amount donated, and the mode of payment — cash or otherwise. That was it.
The new ITR Schedule 80G filing requirements go a step further. The tax department now wants a traceable payment trail — not just the claim that a donation was made, but evidence linking that donation to a specific bank transaction. The transaction reference number creates that link.
Cash donations still qualify under Section 80G, but only up to Rs. 2,000 per donation. Anything above that must go through a banking channel — and now, that channel must be documented with a reference number and IFSC code in your return.
Fake donation claims have been a persistent problem. Many people used to claim 80G deduction without maintaining any real bank records — a name, a PAN, and a number were enough to pass through the system. That gap is now being closed.
With UPI and online transfers now accounting for a large portion of all charitable giving in India, matching a donation to a bank transaction is significantly easier than it was five years ago. But the system can only use that data if filers actually provide the reference.
So what does this mean for genuine donors? Not much extra work — if the donation was digital, the reference number is already sitting in your UPI app or bank statement. The IFSC code of the charity's bank can usually be found on their website, official receipt, or donation acknowledgment letter.
And that's the part most people overlook: the IFSC code required here belongs to the donee's bank branch, not yours.
Four of the most commonly filed forms carry the new requirement — ITR-1, ITR-2, ITR-3, and ITR-4. If you fall under any of these, the new fields apply to you without exception.
Before you sit down to file, collect the following:
Download the latest Excel or Java utility from the e-filing portal before starting. Older versions of the utility may not show the new Schedule 80G fields, which means you'd be filing an incomplete return without realising it. Use only the AY 2026-27 version.
No IFSC, no deduction. That's the practical risk here.
If the transaction reference number or IFSC code is missing, incorrect, or doesn't match what the bank records show, the tax officer can disallow the 80G deduction during scrutiny or processing. That means the full donated amount gets added back to your taxable income — and you pay tax on it, plus potential interest.
Honestly, how strictly officers will pursue mismatches in the first year of the new rule isn't fully clear yet. But the fields are mandatory in the form, which means the system may automatically flag returns where they're left blank. Don't test it.
The safest move: verify the donee's bank details before donating. Ask for an official receipt that carries the IFSC code. Save every UPI screenshot and bank confirmation. If you donated to multiple organisations, keep a separate record for each one before starting your return.
Cash donations can still be claimed under Section 80G, but only up to Rs. 2,000 per donation per donee. Anything above that threshold must be paid through a banking channel to qualify — NEFT, RTGS, IMPS, cheque, or UPI. For cash payments under the Rs. 2,000 limit, the new transaction reference and IFSC fields may not apply, but you should still keep a written receipt from the charity. Check the specific guidance in the AY 2026-27 utility to confirm how cash entries are handled in the updated Schedule 80G.
Go back to your UPI app — Google Pay, PhonePe, Paytm, or whichever one you used — and look up the transaction in your payment history. Every completed UPI transfer generates a reference ID, and apps typically store transaction records for 12 to 24 months. If the payment was made by NEFT or IMPS, check your bank's transaction history or download the account statement for the relevant period. Honestly, this varies depending on your bank and how old the transaction is — but most banks provide at least six months of detailed history online, and longer records on request. Keep a habit of saving payment screenshots at the time of donation; it takes three seconds and saves a lot of trouble later.
The IFSC code should appear on the official receipt or donation acknowledgment the charity sends after payment. Most registered NGOs and charitable trusts also display their bank details — including IFSC — on their official websites under the "donate" or "contact" section. If neither source works, contact the charity directly and ask for their bank branch IFSC. Don't guess or use a general branch code — the IFSC must match the exact branch where the charity holds its account.
A wrong PAN for the donee is one of the more common reasons 80G deduction claims get flagged during processing. The tax department cross-references the PAN you enter with their database of approved 80G organisations — if it doesn't match, the claim can be rejected outright. Double-check the PAN on the charity's official 80G exemption certificate, not just their receipt. The exemption certificate also carries the validity period of the 80G approval, which is worth checking since some organisations' approvals lapse and don't get renewed.
Yes — the new transaction reference and IFSC code requirements apply to all Section 80G deduction claims filed for Assessment Year 2026-27, which covers income earned in FY 2025-26. If you're filing a belated return for an earlier year under a different assessment year, the old form and old Schedule 80G fields would apply. But for anything filed now under AY 2026-27, the new fields are mandatory regardless of when in FY 2025-26 the donation was made. Pull your bank records for the full financial year — April 2025 through March 2026 — before you start the return.
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