Gift Aid is an easy way to make your donation go even further. If you are a UK taxpayer, we can claim 25p from the government on every £1 you donate, at no extra cost to you.
So if you donate £10 and can gift aid, it’s worth £12.50 to us! Which is great news for the local children and families we support.
FAQs
How does gift aid work?
As a UK taxpayer, you will pay tax on your earnings, pensions or savings, at either a basic rate of 20% or a higher rate of 40%.
As you have already paid tax on your income that you’re then donating to charity, the government allows the charity to reclaim this tax back.
Do I qualify for gift aid?
Yes - if the amount of UK income tax or capital gains tax you’ve paid in any tax year (from 6th April one year to 5th April the next) covers the amount of tax charities will reclaim on your donations.
For advice on how to check if you’ve paid enough tax to use gift aid, please visit the HMRC website.
How do I gift aid my donations?
All you need to do is complete a gift aid declaration. You can do this by:
- ticking the gift aid box when you next donate
- completing our online gift aid form
- calling 01484 411 040 to make a declaration over the phone.
Will I need to make a gift aid declaration every year?
No – you only need to make a declaration once. We’ll keep this declaration as your enduring permission to claim gift aid on all future donations. It will cover the previous four years as well.
If you haven’t paid tax to cover your past donations or you stop paying tax in the future, please let us know as soon as possible, otherwise we’ll keep on claiming and this could result in us receiving tax relief we’re not entitled to, which could have implications for you.
If you have any questions, please email fundraising@forgetmenotchild.co.uk or call 01484 411040.
Which donations qualify for gift aid?
Gift aid can only be claimed on personal donations.
Gift aid cannot be claimed on
- Donations on behalf of a group of people
- Raffles, lotteries and auctions
- Collections (however under some circumstances gift aid can be claimed where we have declarations from the individual donors. Please call us to discuss further).
I am a higher rate taxpayer – what does this mean for me?
If you are a higher rate taxpayer, you can also claim back the difference between the higher rate of tax (40%) and the basic rate (20%) on the total (gross) value of your donation to us.
For more information on claiming back higher rate tax please visit the HMRC website
Can I gift aid as a pensioner?
Income from state pensions alone is unlikely to qualify as you’d need to earn above the personal allowance threshold to pay income tax.
If this is your only source of income, you should check with your tax office before completing a declaration.
Can I use gift aid for items donated to charity shops?
Yes. We can apply gift aid to donated items once they’re sold and we know the cash value. So, for instance, if you donated a dress and we sold it for £5 we can claim gift aid to the value of £1.25. But we can only do that if you’ve told us you’d like to gift aid your items when you bring them into one of our shops or our donation centre.
As with all gift aid donations, we can only reclaim gift aid if you are a UK taxpayer who has paid sufficient tax in the tax year your gift was received.
IMPORTANT
You can cancel your gift aid declaration at any time, please call us on 01484 411 040 or email fundraising@forgetmenotchild.co.uk
Please notify us if you change your name or address or if your tax status changes.
More information from HMRC
For a full explanation of gift aid, visit www.hmrc.gov.uk/individuals/giving/gift-aid.htm