What is Gift Aid?
Gift Aid is a tax relief allowing UK charities to reclaim an extra 25% in tax on every eligible donation made by a UK taxpayer.
Gift Aid should not be claimed when:
- Making a donation on behalf of someone else or a group of people. For example, if a friend gives you £10 which you donate to your Fundraising Page using your own card and details. Even if your friend is a UK taxpayer, the donation is not eligible because HMRC needs to know the details of the person actually contributing the funds.
- Making a donation on behalf of a company. You can only make Gift Aid declarations on your own taxpayer status when spending your own money. However, a company can claim tax relief on the donation when donating directly to the charity.
- Making a donation to a family member who's taking part in an event and their charity is contributing to the cost. For example, if you're donating to a close family member who is doing an overseas trek and the charity is paying for the cost of their trip.
Benefits to higher-rate taxpayers
If you pay tax at the higher rate, you can reclaim tax relief on your gross donation at 20% (i.e. the difference between the higher rate of tax at 40% and the basic rate at 20%). Your JustGiving account keeps an accurate record of your donations to help you claim tax relief if you need to. Simply print out a copy of your donation history and attach it to your tax return.
What if I am not a UK taxpayer?
The Gift Aid scheme is unique to the UK. If you are not a UK taxpayer, you can still make a donation through JustGiving, but your donation will not be eligible for Gift Aid.
What if I don’t live in the UK?
A person living overseas unfortunately cannot claim Gift Aid at the moment, however you can still make a donation.
What if my donation isn't eligible for Gift Aid?
If your donation isn't eligible for Gift Aid, we'll still accept your payment.
Why isn't my donation eligible for Gift Aid?
There are certain rules set by the HMRC about what donations are eligible. If any of the reasons listed below apply to your donation, we’ll not be able to claim the Gift Aid.
- You’re a non-UK taxpayer
- You are not currently based within the UK
- You’re donating on behalf of someone else or a group of people
- You’re donating on behalf of a company
- The payer name on your donation is different from your name
- Your address is a non-residential address
If your donation isn’t eligible, we won't claim Gift Aid for you. That’s because it’s really important that we stick to these rules so we can continue to claim Gift Aid quickly.
If you believe your donation should still be eligible for Gift Aid according to the rules above, we would ned you to complete a Gift Aid form..