Gift Aid
Gift aid is tax relief on money donated to UK
charities.
Gift Aid works by allowing charities to take a donation (which
is money that the donor has already paid tax on), and then reclaim
tax on its 'gross' equivalent (its value before tax was deducted)
at the basic rate. This is 20 per cent from 6 April 2008.
In practice this means that for every pound donated to charity
using Gift Aid the charity can claim an additional 25 pence from
HMRC. In addition HMRC will automatically pay the charity a further
3 pence for every pound Gift Aid donation it receives between 6
April 2008 and 5 April 2011; this transitional relief has been
provided by Government to allow charities to adjust to the fall in
basic rate tax (from 22% to 20%) from 6 April 2008. This means that
for every pound donated under the Gift Aid scheme the charity will
continue to receive 28 pence.
Gift Aid can apply to one-off donations or to a series of
regular donations.
Gift Aid declarations
In order for a donation to qualify under Gift Aid the donor
needs to make a declaration saying that they would like to donate
through the Gift Aid scheme and confirming that they have paid
enough tax to cover the charity’s claim. The charity can ask for a
written declaration or they may accept oral declarations.
A Gift Aid declaration can apply to:
- a single donation
- all future donations to the same charity
- donations made to the charity in the previous six years or
- a combination of these options.
The charity will ask which type of declaration the donor wants
to make.
Who can donate through Gift Aid?
A donor can use Gift Aid if the amount of tax they have paid in
the tax year of the donation is sufficient to cover the amount of
tax the charity will reclaim against the donation. The tax paid by
the donor may be Income Tax, Capital Gains Tax or tax credits on UK
company dividends. Tax years start on 6 April and run until 5 April
the following year.
Higher rate taxpayers
A higher rate taxpayer who makes donations through Gift Aid can
claim back the difference between the higher rate of tax at 40 per
cent and the basic rate of tax at 20 per cent on the total value to
the charity/CASC of their donation (the 'gross donation').
The donor may choose to give some or all of this difference to
charity.
Donors who complete a Self Assessment tax return will have an
option to claim back the higher rate element of the tax relief on
any donations made to charity. Donors who do not complete a Self
Assessment tax return can call their tax office and have the higher
rate relief reflected in their PAYE tax code.
SA Donate
SA Donate is a scheme for donors who complete Self Assessment
tax returns and it enables donors to gift any repayment of tax that
they are entitled to direct to charity. They can also use Gift Aid
for this type of donation.
Non taxpayers
If you do not pay tax, you should not use Gift Aid.