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Charitable Giving

Gift Aid

1. Individuals are able to claim higher rate relief on cash gifts and payments to charities under gift aid. Basic rate tax is treated as having been deducted, so you must pay enough tax for the year to cover the tax witheld from your Gift Aid payment.
2. Special tax reliefs apply to gifts to charities of certain types of shares and securities, or land and buildings.
3. Self-assessment now allows individuals to divert some or all of any tax repayment due to them for the year to a charity of their choosing, and to opt for this to be treated as a Gift Aid payment, both via entries on the tax return.
4. Individuals also now have the option to make a claim for a charitable donation made in one tax year to be treated as if it had been made in the previous tax year, so long as the claim is made by inclusion on the Tax Return for the later year. So long as the later year's Return is filed in time, this would mean that a payment could rank for higher rate tax relief for the earlier year, even if the donor is liable at basic rate, only, in the tax year in which the payment is made.

Give As You Earn

1. Employees may authorise participating employers to deduct donations from their gross salary for forwarding to their nominated charities.
2. Employees receive tax relief in full on their donations.
3. Employers with fewer than 500 staff, who set up a Payroll Giving scheme between April 2004 and December 2006 will be entitled to receive a grant to offset the costs of setting up the scheme. The Home Office programme, which will be administered and promoted by the Institute of Fundraising and Business in the Community, will;
   
   
   • give employers a cash incentive of up to £500 and
   • match the first £10 donated by each employee, every month, for a period of six months.

Did you know?

• Around 56,000 charities reclaimed tax of £586 million on Gift Aid donations in 2003/04 (the latest year for which information is available) representing an average of over £10,000 per charity.


• Last year more than 6,000 of these charities claiming were reclaiming for the first time.


• The Tsunami Appeal highlighted the generosity of the British public in raising £300 million. It is estimated that 60 per cent of donors used Gift Aid which would increase the funds available to DEC (Disasters Emergency Committee) by a further £50 million.

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