Registered charities and Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCs) can register with HMRC to claim Gift Aid, allowing them to claim an extra 25p for every £1 donation received (for basic rate tax payers). While Gift Aid can be claimed on most donations, some payments do not qualify. For example, donations that:
- are from limited companies
- are made through Payroll Giving
- are a payment for goods or services
- provide the donor with a ‘benefit’ over a certain limit
- are shares the charity holds
- are from charity cards or vouchers
- are membership fees to CASCs
- are made before the organisation was recognised as charity or CASC
There are also special rules for claiming Gift Aid on donations from:
- sponsored challenges
- charity membership fees
- church collections
- sale of goods
- charity events/viewing charity property
- charity auctions
- volunteer expenses that are donated back
In order to claim Gift Aid from an eligible donation, the donor must have paid the same amount or more in income or capital gains tax in that tax year and make a Gift Aid declaration to give the charity/CASC permission to claim (please note that if a donor has not made a declaration on a cash donation of £30 or less, a claim may still be able to be made via the Gift Aid small donations scheme (GASDS))
To make a Gift Aid claim, a charity/CASC must maintain a list/database of all individuals who donate with Gift Aid, retain the signed declaration form from each and submit the claim using the HMRC portal or ChR1 form, which can be obtained by calling 0300 123 1073.
For more information on claiming Gift Aid, please see here.
