Claim paid tax back for charity contribution

sann420

Hi All,

I earn a bit over 50k so pay 40% tax on any income above 45k.

I made a cash donation to a charity for £1k about 6 months ago. Some one I know recently mentioned that I could claim back 40% of that money as it should not be taxed if it goes to charity.

I dont fully understand the way tax and VAT work for charity donations. Can some one please shed some light on this?

I would be paying any reclaimed money to either the same charity or a different one. Which ever is easier.

Thanks in advance.

00ec25

did you complete a gift aid form?

yes? read this: https://www.gov.uk/donating-to-charity/gift-aid

no? you can't

Savvy_Sue

00ec25 wrote: »

no? you can't

But you may be able to retrospectively Gift Aid the donation - was it recorded against your name, or anonymous?

(Mind you, if it was recorded against your name, I'd have expected the charity to have asked if you'd like to Gift Aid, unless they didn't have contact details for you.)

sann420

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

But you may be able to retrospectively Gift Aid the donation - was it recorded against your name, or anonymous?

(Mind you, if it was recorded against your name, I'd have expected the charity to have asked if you'd like to Gift Aid, unless they didn't have contact details for you.)

It was a bank transfer from my account to that charity so there is definitely a record. I'll try to look more into it. Maybe the charity can go directly to the HMRC for a claim.

sann420

Also could I claim the money back in my annual tax return ?

BoGoF

sann420 wrote: »

Also could I claim the money back in my annual tax return ?

As above, if it was Gift Aid you can claim tax relief (but you won't get 40% back)

Savvy_Sue

sann420 wrote: »

It was a bank transfer from my account to that charity so there is definitely a record. I'll try to look more into it. Maybe the charity can go directly to the HMRC for a claim.

No, they can't, but if you contact them and ask for a Gift Aid claim form, they should bite your hand off.

And then, you can claim tax relief. NOT 40% back to you, but reducing your tax bill.

tralla

It is worth being aware of how the system works before you tick the gift aid box and claim back.


There is an interesting article in the FT. I am not allowed to post links but you can google "cost of gift aid to taxpayer", or search for "The charitable giving model is an undemocratic use of funds"

Savvy_Sue

tralla wrote: »

It is worth being aware of how the system works before you tick the gift aid box and claim back.


There is an interesting article in the FT. I am not allowed to post links but you can google "cost of gift aid to taxpayer", or search for "The charitable giving model is an undemocratic use of funds"

I'm not going to pretend I've read the articles properly, but "The charitable giving model is an undemocratic use of funds" had a rebuttal within a week in Civil Society: "The FT is wrong on charities. Let's look at the real issues"