Giving data for good: where tax relief applies, and where it doesn't

Giving data means passing it outright to a university, hospital or charity that will use it. Europe now has a name for it: the EU's Data Governance Act recognises data altruism, making data available for the general interest without seeking a reward.

Where relief is possible. In the United States a gift of data can be deductible, but usually at what the data cost you, not what it might sell for. Giving a copy or only a licence generally brings no deduction. In Portugal, since August 2026, a company's gifts in kind can count, under a new rule with no rulings on data yet, due for review at the end of 2026. The Netherlands allows gifts in kind to a registered public-benefit charity, and Canada counts a gift at its value, but taxes it as if you had sold it.

Where it is smaller. France gives relief on part of what the data cost to make. Germany allows only a whole asset to be given, never a licence.

Where there is none. The UK and Singapore give no tax relief for a gift of data.

A donor-advised fund in the US adds no extra tax benefit. It is a way of giving now and choosing the charities later, through a fund that can accept an unusual gift.

A gift is most useful when it is ready to use. The FAIR principles, which research funders now ask for, set out how: data that can be found, accessed, combined and reused.

Whether a gift suits you, and what relief applies, is for your own tax adviser to confirm before you give. Nothing here is tax advice.