Chartered Accountant · ICAI M.No. 153926 · FRN 136869W · Reviewed on 12 October 2026
The computation, with numbers
Say total donations are ₹60 lakh, of which ₹10 lakh are anonymous. The buffer is the higher of ₹1 lakh or 5% of ₹60 lakh (₹3 lakh) — so ₹3 lakh escapes, and ₹7 lakh is taxed at 30% plus surcharge and cess, with no exemption computation applying to it. The buffer amount itself simply merges back into the trust’s normal income stream and follows the ordinary application-of-income rules.
What counts as anonymous
A cash donation is not anonymous if the trust records the donor’s name and address — the section tests records, not payment mode. Donation boxes and hundis are where the issue concentrates; temples (wholly religious) are outside 115BBC, which is precisely why the classification of your trust’s objects matters. Foreign contributions sit under the separate FCRA regime with its own identification demands — FCRA money should never be anonymous at all.
The discipline that avoids the 30%
A donation register with name, address and amount; printed receipts even for small sums (donors claiming 80G need them anyway); counterfoil control over collection boxes; and clean disclosure in the ITR-7 and the Form 10B/10BB (Form 112 from 1 April 2026) audit. From Tax Year 2026-27 the same anonymous-donation regime continues under the Income-tax Act, 2025. Our trust registration & compliance practice sets up the registers and the 12AB/80G framework together.