Gift Aid

25% added to your donation

If you’re a UK tax payer, Gift Aid will automatically top up your donation on Localgiving.com by 25% at no extra cost to you. Gift Aid is a government scheme that encourages charitable giving.

Typically, if a charity is not registered with the Charity Commission or HMRC, it cannot claim Gift Aid (and many that can claim Gift Aid don’t because they find the process too complicated).

But, Gift Aid makes a huge difference to small charities. Localgiving.com automatically claims Gift Aid for every charity and community group on the website, passing it directly to them, so they can get the benefit of Gift Aid without the hassle.

Up to 22% extra allowance for higher rate tax payers

If you pay a higher rate of income tax, your donations may be included in the allowances on your tax return. This means that your donation costs you up to 22% less. The Charity Commission has given its approval and encouragement to HMRC’s Gift Aid process.

What it’s worth

Gift Aid is worth nearly £1 billion a year to charities and their donors. It’s estimated that £250 million of tax rebates that could be claimed by higher rate tax payers to benefit UK charities are left unclaimed.

How Gift Aid works

Gift Aid is a UK Government initiative that allows tax relief on money donated to UK charities.

Gift Aid allows charities to reclaim the basic tax rate for a total of 25% on every donation. This means that for every £1 donated, HMRC will provide an additional £0.25 supplement on the donation. Please note: tax rates are subject to change.

Gift Aid rules

To qualify for Gift Aid reclaims, a donor must:

• Be a registered UK tax payer
• Donate as an individual and not on behalf of an organisation, a group of individuals or even on behalf of his family
• Pay enough income tax and/or capital gains tax to cover the amount that all charities and CACS donated to will reclaim for this tax year (VAT and council tax do not qualify).
• Confirm that the donation is for the general use of the charity and will not in any way directly benefit a family member or relative
• Provide personal details for his Gift Aid declaration

Learn more about HMRC’s Gift Aid scheme by clicking here