What Section 18A is, how Altivo generates reference numbers for it automatically, what has to be true first, and what is and is not built yet.

Sponsorships > Section 18A

What is Section 18A?

Section 18A of the South African Income Tax Act lets individuals and companies deduct donations to approved Public Benefit Organisations from their taxable income. A sponsor who donates cash to a school with PBO status can claim that deduction.

What has to be true

1. Your school has a PBO number set in My School

2. The sponsorship includes at least one Cash contribution

When both hold, Altivo generates the reference automatically the moment you save the sponsorship. Goods and Services never qualify under SA tax law, no matter how large the contribution or whether cash is also present.

The reference format

18A-{PBO number}-{tax year}-{sequence}

Example: 18A-930044821-2026-0001

• 930044821 - your PBO number

• 2026 - the South African tax year, which runs 1 March to end February and is labelled by its ending year, so March 2025 to February 2026 is tax year 2026

• 0001 - sequential per school, resetting each tax year

What is built and what is not

Right now, the reference number is the record. Use it on whatever receipt or acknowledgement letter your school already sends the sponsor.

Rules worth knowing

• References are immutable once generated - they cannot be changed or reissued

• Goods and Services never qualify, even sitting alongside a cash contribution in the same sponsorship

• Adding a PBO number does not retroactively create references for sponsorships that already exist

• Compliance with SARS requirements remains your school's responsibility, not Altivo's

Setting up your PBO number

1. Go to My School in the sidebar

2. Enter your PBO number - digits only, no spaces or punctuation

3. Click Save Changes

Frequently asked questions

There is no reference on my sponsorship.

Check both conditions together: a PBO number set in My School, and at least one Cash contribution on that sponsorship. Missing either one means nothing is generated.

We have a PBO number but references still are not generating.

Check the PBO number itself for stray spaces or punctuation - it should be digits only. Then confirm the contribution is set to Cash, not Goods or Services.

A sponsor wants a receipt for a goods donation.

Under South African tax law only cash donations to an approved PBO qualify for Section 18A. Goods and services do not qualify regardless of value.

We added our PBO number after recording some sponsorships. Do those get references now?

No - it is not retroactive. Only sponsorships created or edited after the PBO number was set will receive one.