Over two thirds of charities registered for Gift Aid are now making their claims online, according to HMRC.

Of 70,000 charities registered for Gift Aid, over 50,000 charities have signed up to Charities Online, HMRC’s web-based facility which makes it easier for charities to claim back tax on donations.

Charities Online has been the only option for claiming Gift Aid since October last year, replacing the old paper-based claims.

The new system has effectively reduced the time it takes to process payments from the previous 29 days using paper returns, to nine.

According to the HMRC charities have so far received over £380 million in Gift Aid repayments since the system was launched in April last year.

Nicky Morgan, economic secretary to the treasury, said the system was proving to be a success.

“The government values the important work of charities in our society, and we want charities to maximise their donations. In 2013 charities and their donors received £4 billion in dedicated tax reliefs from the government.

“I am pleased that over 50,000 organisations have registered to use this service, which will speed up the rate that charities can access donations.”

The biggest claim made online so far by a single charity has been for £3.7m.

And the busiest time for making claims was early September last year, when nearly 30,000 charities visited the site in one week.