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Section 18A certificates explained

In short: A Section 18A certificate is the tax document a SARS-approved PBO gives a donor so the donor can deduct their donation from taxable income. In ActiveDonor you issue certificates from receipts, email them to donors, and declare them to SARS in the IT3(d) file. Your PBO number must be set or certificates are marked INVALID.

Overview

A Section 18A certificate is a tax certificate that a SARS-approved organisation issues to a donor so the donor can claim an income-tax deduction for their donation. The name comes from Section 18A of the South African Income Tax Act, which lets taxpayers deduct qualifying donations to approved organisations from their taxable income. Without a valid Section 18A certificate, a donor cannot claim the deduction.

ActiveDonor lets your organisation issue Section 18A certificates from the donations (receipts) you've captured, email them to donors, and report the issued certificates to SARS through the IT3(d) data file. This article explains the terms and how the pieces fit together; the step-by-step "how to" articles are linked at the end.

Who can issue Section 18A certificates

Only an organisation that SARS has approved as a Public Benefit Organisation (PBO) under Section 18A may issue these certificates. SARS gives an approved organisation a PBO number (also called an exemption reference number), and it must appear on every certificate.

  • PBO (Public Benefit Organisation) — an organisation SARS has approved to carry on public benefit activities.
  • NPO (Non-Profit Organisation) — a separate registration with the Department of Social Development. Being an NPO is not the same as being a Section 18A-approved PBO.

⚠️ Important: If you haven't entered a PBO number, the certificate page warns "You need be a registered with SARS as a PBO to issue tax certificates. Your certificate is INVALID without a PBO number." Add your PBO number in certificate and IT3(d) settings before issuing real certificates.

Key terms

  • Section 18A certificate — the tax certificate issued to a donor for a qualifying donation. Sometimes shortened to "18A".
  • Receipt — a record of a single donation in ActiveDonor. A certificate is built from one or more receipts.
  • Donor — the person or entity that made the donation and who receives the certificate.
  • IT3(d) — the electronic data file an approved organisation must submit to SARS to declare the Section 18A certificates it has issued. SARS reconciles the certificates donors claim against this file. Written "IT3(d)" or "IT3D".
  • PBO number / exemption reference number — the approval number SARS gives your organisation.
  • Tax year (tax period) — the Section 18A year runs from 1 March to the end of February. A donation dated 1 March 2025 to 28 February 2026 falls in the 2026 tax year.
  • SAMPLE watermark — a "SAMPLE" mark printed across certificates generated while your account is on the free trial.

How issuing works, end to end

  1. You capture donations as receipts, marking the ones that qualify for Section 18A (the project the donation is allocated to must be a Section 18A project).
  2. You issue a certificate from one receipt (a single certificate) or several receipts (a batch/combined certificate). ActiveDonor generates a PDF with a unique certificate number.
  3. You email the certificate to the donor or download the PDF.
  4. At (or during) the end of the tax year you generate the IT3(d) file and submit it to SARS — either one-click from ActiveDonor or by downloading and uploading it yourself.
  5. SARS responds, and ActiveDonor records whether each certificate was accepted, accepted with warnings, or rejected.

The SAMPLE watermark

While your organisation is on the free trial, every Section 18A certificate is generated with a "SAMPLE" watermark. The certificate page shows: "During the trial period, your Section 18A Certificates will have a 'SAMPLE' watermark."

The watermark stops trial certificates from being mistaken for valid tax certificates. To produce certificates without it, move off the trial onto a paid plan, then refresh or regenerate the certificate so a fresh PDF is produced. See Refreshing a certificate and removing SAMPLE text (open the certificate and click Re-generate PDF File after upgrading).

What you can do with certificates in ActiveDonor

  • Issue a single certificate from one donation — see Issuing a single Section 18A certificate.
  • Issue a batch (combined) certificate covering several donations in the same tax year — see Batch and combined Section 18A certificates.
  • Produce a statement of donations — a summary letter of a donor's giving (not a tax certificate) — see Statement of donations.
  • Email certificates to donors, with optional electronic signatures.
  • Upload your own signed certificate PDF in place of the generated one.
  • Import historical certificates from a spreadsheet.
  • Generate and submit the IT3(d) file to SARS and track the result.
  • Revoke a certificate that was issued in error.

FAQ

Is a Section 18A certificate the same as a receipt? No. A receipt records a donation; a Section 18A certificate is the tax document built from one or more receipts that lets the donor claim a deduction.

Do I need to be an NPO to issue certificates? No — you need to be a SARS-approved PBO with a PBO number. NPO registration is separate and doesn't qualify you on its own.

Why is every certificate marked SAMPLE? Your account is on the free trial. Upgrade to a paid plan and refresh the certificate to produce a clean PDF.

What's the IT3(d) file? The data file you submit to SARS declaring the certificates you've issued, so SARS can reconcile what donors claim. See Generating the IT3(d) file for SARS.

What dates count as one tax year? 1 March to the end of February. Donations from 1 March 2025 to 28 February 2026 are the 2026 tax year.

  • Issuing a single Section 18A certificate
  • Section 18A eligibility and required donor tax details
  • Batch and combined Section 18A certificates
  • Bulk-issuing Section 18A certificates for a whole tax year
  • Revoking a Section 18A certificate
  • Statement of donations
  • Refreshing a certificate and removing SAMPLE text
  • Generating the IT3(d) file for SARS
  • IT3(d) settings: Submitting Entity vs Reporting Entity
  • Certificate settings
  • Section 18A issued and revoked reports