Supporting Voluntary and Community Action
Earlier this year, the government released Gift Aid statistics, revealing that the amount paid out on the scheme had increased to a record £1.35 billion, up from £90 million – an increase of 7%.
In particular, the Small Donations Scheme (GASDS) has seen a 33% increase in the amount of money claimed.
However, there is still significant room for improvement for GASDS – Gift Aid is not claimed on about 25% of donations eligible for the relief – clearly this could be worth millions of pounds.
Reasons for this Many donors think it will cost them, or the charity, more if they donate through Gift Aid; and many charities don't register for Gift Aid or encourage donors to tick the box because they worry about the admin involved. But Gift Aid increases the value of donations by 25%, so it is definitely worth it for any charity that relies on donations from individuals who pay enough UK income tax or capital gains tax to cover the amount the charity will claim on their donation.
Voscur would like to encourage all organisations that qualify for Gift Aid to take advantage of it in order to make them more financially sustainable.
With this in mind, we have provided a set of free resources that have been provided courtesy of Sandy Adirondack's free legal update emails for voluntary organisations. You can request to be signed up to her mailing list here.
Gift Aid made simple, Sayer Vincent accountants, August 2018, 28pp:
https://www.sayervincent.co.uk/resources/made-simple-guides
This is the best introduction to how GA works, GA declarations, claiming GA, donor benefits, special situations, record keeping, GA audits, donations to foreign charities, GASDS, and future developments. And all in one publication, unlike HMRC guidance which involves jumping between multiple webpages.
Claiming Gift Aid as a charity or CASC:
https://www.gov.uk/claim-gift-aid
HMRC's introductory guidance to being recognised by HMRC, what GA can be claimed on, GA declarations, the GA Small Donations Scheme (GASDS) and how to claim.
Chapter 3: Gift Aid in HMRC's detailed guidance for charities, most recently updated 1 May 2019:
How to complete your Gift Aid donations schedule. HMRC, October 2018:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/courses/syob4/giftaidsch_guide
Updated guidance on completing the donations schedule (the list of donations that must be submitted to HMRC in order to claim GA). It clarifies the software that must be used, and explains how to download and save the schedule and complete each section. This is especially useful for charities and CASCs claiming GA for the first time.
Gift Aid declarations, logos, infographics, FAQs and other tools
to encourage more use of Gift Aid by charities and donors, developed by Charity Tax Group for the first Gift Aid awareness day on 4 October 2018:
Regular news on Gift Aid changes from Charity Tax Group:
https://www.charitytaxgroup.org.uk/tax/donations/gift-aid
CTG announced on 25 June 2019 that it has convened a working group to look at the future of Gift Aid from a practical and strategic perspective, and to produce a paper for HMRC's own Gift Aid working group.