Teen builds tool to get tax back on school donations
Almost $500,000 in school donation tax credits were left unclaimed by parents at just one Dunedin high school, and Olivia Priemus saw an opportunity.
The 16-year-old is the brains behind DonateMate, a digital business she developed through the Young Enterprise Scheme.
“The idea for DonateMate came from conversations with parents and family friends who were unaware they could claim back 33% of their school donations,” Priemus, a Year 12 student at St Hilda’s Collegiate, said.
“I was shocked at how many parents were unaware they could claim anything back at all.”
Her market research found that 60% of parents at her school didn’t know about the credit. That matched school data showing only about one-third of parents at her school requested donation certificates last year.
“That’s a huge amount of potential money, up to $490,000 being left unclaimed at just our school alone.”
In the 2023 tax year, 352,300 people claimed donations tax credits (DTC) from Inland Revenue, a 4.9% decrease from the 2022 tax year.
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