Gift Aid

What is Gift Aid?

Gift Aid is a government scheme that allows us to reclaim the tax you have paid on your donation at no extra cost to you.
If you are a UK taxpayer, the value of your gift can be increased by 25% under the Gift Aid scheme at no extra cost to you. This means a donation of £10, for example, could be worth an extra £2.50 to us.
To be eligible for Gift Aid you must confirm you have paid or will pay an amount of Income Tax and/or Capital Gains Tax for each tax year (6 April to 5 April) that is at least equal to the amount of tax that all the charities or Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCs) that you donate to will reclaim on your gifts for that tax year. Your address is needed to identify you as a current UK taxpayer.
If you pay less Income Tax and/or Capital Gains Tax than the amount of Gift Aid claimed on all your donations in that tax year it is your responsibility to pay any difference
You must understand that other taxes such as VAT and Council Tax do not qualify and that the charity will reclaim 28p of tax on every £1 that you gave up to 5 April 2008 and will reclaim 25p of tax on every £1 that you give on or after 6 April 2008.
If you pay Income Tax at the higher or additional rate and want to receive the additional tax relief due to you, you must include all your Gift Aid donations on your Self-Assessment tax return or ask HM Revenue and Customs to adjust your tax code. Gift Aid is reclaimed by the charity from the tax you pay for the current tax year.
For more information go to: https://www.gov.uk/donating-to-charity/gift-aid

Make an online Declaration using the online Gift Aid form.
Alternatively download and print a postal Gift Aid Form
For fundraisers with multiple donors who can Gift Aid their donation download a sponsorship form. Download the front page of the Sponsorship form here and any extra pages here.

I live outside the UK do I still qualify for Gift Aid?

In order for us to claim Gift Aid on your donation you need to pay UK tax to the British government of an amount equivalent to the amount we can claim, in the tax year you made it. So for example if you give us £10, you must pay at least £2.50 (25% of the donation) income or capital gains tax to HMRC.

If you do pay UK tax you must also have a UK address for us to claim Gift Aid on your donation. If, however, you do not pay tax to HMRC, or you do but do not have a UK address, then unfortunately we can't claim the Gift Aid from your donation.

If you pay tax to HMRC and have a UK address then we can claim Gift Aid, you can make declaration on our website contact form (just select Make a Gift Aid Declaration) or by downloading a Gift Aid Declaration Form.

For tax purposes the UK is defined as England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It does not include the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man.

If I donate by phone, can the DEC claim Gift Aid?

Yes. The automated telephone donation line will ask for confirmation of whether you want the DEC to claim Gift Aid on your donation. Likewise, if you speak to a member of staff in the call centre they will give you the option to make a Gift Aid declaration.

I am a Pensioner, do my Donations Qualify?

Income from a state pension alone is unlikely to qualify for Gift Aid as it will not put you above the personal allowance threshold (the amount of income you need to have before you start paying tax). If this is your only source of income you should double check with the tax office before completing a declaration.

I said yes to Gift Aid and now I’m worried I’m going to have to pay more.

Gift Aid is reclaimed at no cost to you, the donor. It is claimed from HMRC and taken out of the tax you pay them for that year. For more information please visit https://www.gov.uk/donating-to-charity/gift-aid

Gift Aid

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