Who is receiving my Gift Aid?

Dangthrimble

About Gift Aid, the UK Government web site states, "You’ll need to keep a record of your donations if you want to take them off your total taxable income." When asking for Gift Aid, that is not something charities tend to advise and I, for one, didn't think to search the government web site for advice before committing to Gift Aid.

I know HMRC can reclaim Gift Aid overpayments from you (or your estate, should you die with an overpayment outstanding). So, should I need to cancel Gift Aid, is there anywhere I can go that will identify to whom I might be Gift Aiding? Some Gift Aid is fairly easy to spot: Direct Debits and/or Standing Orders to obvious charities. But what about any others? Clearly, HMRC know which donors are Gift Aiding to which charities, and how much. But I cannot find any indication that information is available anywhere.

lisyloo

You should know who you are giftaiding to as you need to fill out a declaration.
On a website it will be a box but there will be a lot of declaration that goes with it.
I personally keep a note of it in an excel spreadsheet.

If you are a basic rate taxpayer and not gift aiding masses of money then this is pretty much a moot point.
There are only 2 scenarios that i can think of where you need to keep note.

One scenario is if you were gift aiding a lot and needed to ensure you weren't reclaiming more than the tax you'd actually paid. This might occur for example if you received an inheritance and decided you could afford to donate  a lot of your taxable income.

A second (more common) scenario if it you are a high rate tax payer and want to reclaim gift aid at 40%. Then you will need to know the total (and the only way to know the total is to add up the donations).

So no, there is no-one else keeping a register of who you are gift aiding to. 
If you think you might need to know this then you need to keep your own records (not hard to put an entry in an excel spreadsheet).

Cloth_of_Gold

What happens if you accidentally gift aid more than you have paid in tax that year? Does HMRC come to you to make good the over-payment or refuse to pay charities once you have reached your limit?

lisyloo

Cloth_of_Gold said:

What happens if you accidentally gift aid more than you have paid in tax that year? Does HMRC come to you to make good the over-payment or refuse to pay charities once you have reached your limit?

Ignorance is no defence.
(its really not hard to sum up some numbers)

if you get your tax wrong HMRC could come after you to pay back. A first small offence you could get a slap in the wrist. You could be fined. If it’s large and infeasible you would not have noticed then ultimately you could go to prison for tax evasion. 

Most normal people aren’t in a position to donate more than they have paid tax on, so if you are doing this you really need to account for it, either DIY (put it in a spreadsheet and sum it !) or get an accountant if you need one.

Dangthrimble

lisyloo said:

So no, there is no-one else keeping a register of who you are gift aiding to. 
If you think you might need to know this then you need to keep your own records (not hard to put an entry in an excel spreadsheet).

I agree it isn't difficult to keep a record once one knows that is the wise thing to do. Just surprised no charity to whom I have Gift Aided has recommended I do so, or that I keep track of the amounts that are being claimed each year and compare them with the amount of tax I pay.

I was made redundant last tax year and will not be of pensionable age until next tax year, so am mainly living off savings and a small pension. Consequently, this tax year I will be paying little, if any, tax and will need to determine whether or not I can afford to Gift Aid at all.

Cloth_of_Gold

lisyloo said:

Cloth_of_Gold said:

What happens if you accidentally gift aid more than you have paid in tax that year? Does HMRC come to you to make good the over-payment or refuse to pay charities once you have reached your limit?

Ignorance is no defence.
(its really not hard to sum up some numbers)

if you get your tax wrong HMRC could come after you to pay back. A first small offence you could get a slap in the wrist. You could be fined. If it’s large and infeasible you would not have noticed then ultimately you could go to prison for tax evasion. 

Most normal people aren’t in a position to donate more than they have paid tax on, so if you are doing this you really need to account for it, either DIY (put it in a spreadsheet and sum it !) or get an accountant if you need one.

I wasn't suggesting that ignorance is a defence; nor was I suggesting any form of tax evasion. I was simply asking what would happen if you accidentally gave a bit too much.

lisyloo

Cloth_of_Gold said:

lisyloo said:

Cloth_of_Gold said:

What happens if you accidentally gift aid more than you have paid in tax that year? Does HMRC come to you to make good the over-payment or refuse to pay charities once you have reached your limit?

Ignorance is no defence.
(its really not hard to sum up some numbers)

if you get your tax wrong HMRC could come after you to pay back. A first small offence you could get a slap in the wrist. You could be fined. If it’s large and infeasible you would not have noticed then ultimately you could go to prison for tax evasion. 

Most normal people aren’t in a position to donate more than they have paid tax on, so if you are doing this you really need to account for it, either DIY (put it in a spreadsheet and sum it !) or get an accountant if you need one.

I wasn't suggesting that ignorance is a defence; nor was I suggesting any form of tax evasion. I was simply asking what would happen if you accidentally gave a bit too much.

It will probably be a stiffly worded letter and a payment back, but there's a chance they decide to investigate (even on a random basis) and it could be really really bad. They could literally turn your house upside down looking for paperwork if they want.

Please just make a spreadsheet if you suspect you might be in a scenario where you are donating more than you pay tax on.

lisyloo

Dangthrimble said:

lisyloo said:

So no, there is no-one else keeping a register of who you are gift aiding to. 
If you think you might need to know this then you need to keep your own records (not hard to put an entry in an excel spreadsheet).

I agree it isn't difficult to keep a record once one knows that is the wise thing to do. Just surprised no charity to whom I have Gift Aided has recommended I do so, or that I keep track of the amounts that are being claimed each year and compare them with the amount of tax I pay.

I was made redundant last tax year and will not be of pensionable age until next tax year, so am mainly living off savings and a small pension. Consequently, this tax year I will be paying little, if any, tax and will need to determine whether or not I can afford to Gift Aid at all.

All charities will have asked you to sign/check a declaration stating that you have earned enough tax in the tax year to be entitled to claim the gift aid.
You should not be signing or checking that declaration unless you are entitled to make it.

The actual calculation mechanism for your circumstances is your responsibility which you should be taking care of anyway.
I presume you don't want to overpay tax? so won't you be on top of your income tax situation anyway?

sheramber

If  you are not going to have paid enough tax then you need to advise the charity/ies to cancel your gift aid declaration. You will need to know how much you have donated to calculate whether you will have paid enough tax or not. 

Yes, HMRC will ask you to pay any amount not covered by the tax you have paid.