Eligibility engine
Every donor is validated against HMRC's Non-Form Validation Rules before submission. Problem rows surface in a Needs Repair queue with inline address autocorrect suggestions.
- HMRC Non-Form Validation Rules
- Address repair queue
HMRC Gift Aid plugin · v1.15.22
Sky Gift Claim builds valid R68 claim batches from your SkyDonate donations, validates every donor against HMRC rules and submits directly via GovTalk XML, with an immutable audit trail and zero manual re-keying.
Why Sky Gift Claim
Manual processes, incomplete donor data and HMRC submission complexity add up to millions in unclaimed Gift Aid every year.
Sky Gift Claim removes every one of these blockers.
What's inside
Production-grade and built to the same engineering standards as SkyDonate, with 100+ unit tests and full HMRC sandbox certification before going live. A read-only consumer of SkyDonate's data that builds, validates and submits Gift Aid claims directly to HMRC.
Every donor is validated against HMRC's Non-Form Validation Rules before submission. Problem rows surface in a Needs Repair queue with inline address autocorrect suggestions.
Submissions go directly to HMRC's Transaction Engine as signed GovTalk XML with a correct SHA-1 IRmark. No third-party portal, no manual re-keying, no intermediaries.
WP-Cron assembles batches monthly or weekly. Donations are auto-chunked at 500, split at the 6 April boundary, and ready to submit in a single click.
Every request and HMRC response is saved to a write-once audit log, exportable as CSV. An R68GAD .ods schedule is generated for each sub-claim for your HMRC files.
HMRC Gateway credentials are encrypted with libsodium secretbox, with the key stored in wp-config.php.
Build, submit and poll claims from the command line, ready for automation pipelines.
Claim flow
The whole process runs inside WordPress. No portals, no spreadsheets, no third-party middlemen.
SkyDonate records the Gift Aid opt-in alongside every qualifying donation. Sky Gift Claim reads this data without touching SkyDonate's schema.
Each donor is validated against HMRC's Non-Form Validation Rules. Failed records surface in the Needs Repair queue with Google Address suggestions.
WP-Cron assembles batches monthly or weekly, chunking at 500 donations and splitting automatically at the 6 April tax-year boundary.
One click sends the signed GovTalk XML to HMRC's Transaction Engine. The plugin polls automatically until HMRC acknowledges or returns an error.
Every request and HMRC response is written to the immutable audit log, and an R68GAD .ods schedule is generated for each accepted sub-claim.
Admin screens
Everything your Gift Aid manager needs, gated behind the manage_gift_aid capability so only the right people see it.
A live overview of eligible donations, claimable Gift Aid value, recent submissions and any donations stuck in the Needs Repair queue, refreshed on every page load.
A filterable, paginated batch index with CRM-style detail pages. Tabs for Donations, Sub-claims, Needs Repair, Submissions and Payment notes, plus inline address repair with Google Address Validation.
Full submission history with status, GovTalk correlation ID and HMRC response. One-click re-poll for stuck items, and a daily watchdog cron flags anything unresolved after 48 hours.
A write-once, immutable log of every GovTalk request and HMRC response, exportable as CSV. Each accepted submission generates a pre-filled R68GAD .ods schedule for your files and HMRC enquiries.
HMRC Gateway Sender ID, password, CHARID, Vendor ID and Authorised Official details, all encrypted with libsodium secretbox. Switch safely between the LTS, ISV and LIVE environments.
Watches WooCommerce refund events and flags previously claimed donations for an R68 adjustment in the next batch, keeping claims accurate with no manual work from your team.
Integrations
Sky Gift Claim is a read-only consumer of SkyDonate data. No new payment flows and no schema changes: it slots into what you already have.
Technical spec
| Spec | Detail |
|---|---|
| Plugin version | 1.15.22 stable |
| WordPress | Requires 6.4, tested to 6.7 |
| PHP | 8.1, 8.2, 8.3 |
| Depends on | SkyDonate (active, v4.0+) · WooCommerce (active, HPOS-compatible) |
| HMRC submission | GovTalk XML · CHAR-CLM schema · SHA-1 IRmark |
| HMRC environments | LTS (dev) · ISV (HMRC integration testing) · LIVE (production) |
| Credential storage | libsodium secretbox · encryption key in wp-config.php |
| Batch limits | 500 donations per batch · automatic tax-year split at 6 April |
| WP-CLI | wp sky-gift-aid build · submit · poll |
| Cron schedule | Monthly batch build · weekly option · daily watchdog for stuck submissions |
| Capability | manage_gift_aid, gated separately from standard WP admin roles |
| Schema | 4 plugin-owned tables · zero writes to SkyDonate or WooCommerce schema |
| Exports | CSV (audit log and submission history) · R68GAD .ods schedule per sub-claim |
| Licence | GPLv2 or later · full source code, no obfuscation |
Requirements
| Requirement | Version or condition | Must-have |
|---|---|---|
| SkyDonate | Active · v4.0 or later | |
| WooCommerce | HPOS-compatible, 8.x+ | |
| WordPress | 6.4 – 6.7 | |
| PHP | 8.1, 8.2, 8.3 | |
| HMRC registration | Charity must be HMRC-registered for Gift Aid |
Licensing
Same model as all our plugins: a per-site licence, updates through the WordPress admin, and the plugin keeps working after expiry.
Get Sky Gift ClaimYes. Sky Gift Claim works alongside SkyDonate and reads donation and Gift Aid data directly from your existing WooCommerce orders. SkyDonate must be installed and configured on the same WordPress website.
Yes. Claims are submitted directly from your WordPress site to HMRC's Transaction Engine using the official GovTalk XML protocol. No third-party submission service is involved.
The plugin detects WooCommerce refunds and includes any necessary Gift Aid adjustments in the next HMRC claim, so there is no manual tracking.
The plugin checks donor addresses against HMRC validation rules and highlights records that need attention. Optional address validation tools help correct issues before submission.
Yes. Sky Gift Claim supports development, HMRC integration testing (ISV) and live production environments, so you can verify your setup before submitting real claims.
Yes. Alongside detailed and aggregated Gift Aid donations, it builds GASDS top-up claims (up to three claim years), connected-charities declarations, community-building claims and GASDS adjustments, managed from the Non-GAD Items screen.
No. Your donor information, donations and HMRC credentials stay on your own server. The plugin communicates directly with HMRC and only performs licence validation with Sky Web Design.
Update them in the plugin settings. They are encrypted when saved, and future submissions use the new details.
Yes. Credentials are encrypted before being stored and are only used when communicating securely with HMRC's systems.
UK charities and non-profit organisations that collect donations through WooCommerce and want to automate HMRC Gift Aid claims accurately and securely.
Yes. As well as detailed donor lines, it can build aggregated Gift Aid lines that group small donations (up to £1,000 per line) where that is simpler for your charity.
No. A submission gate blocks sending until every donor flagged in the Needs Repair queue is resolved, and the claim XML is validated against the HMRC schema and Schematron before it is submitted.
Sky Gift Claim works alongside SkyDonate to automate everything from donor eligibility to HMRC submission. Get set up in a day, including a full ISV sandbox test run.
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