Money Moral Dilemma: Should I tell my friends I get tax relief from our combined charity donations?

ThriftyCharlie

You are clearly representing this money to your employer and to HMRC as 'your own money.'  So the way to make it right is to declare it to HRMC as additional income and pay tax on it.  Then it really is 'your money' and you can donate it to charity and get tax relief on it and your employer's matching contribution.  You will no longer be making a profit on the deal, so you won't have anything to confess to your friends.

RainbowFriend

As already said, it Employees who get tax relief on their charitable giving, not non-employees.
0Even if you spoke to your employer and they were happy with the current situation, it's highly unlikely that it would pass HMRC's regulations and therefore wouldn't be legal. Find out by contacting them!
I work for a charity and although we are VERY grateful for all our donors and supporters, we would NEVER want someone to unethically donate/gift aid etc, or put themselves or their employers at risk of being convicted of fraud.
All the best as you & your friends continue to donate ethically & legally to deserving causes :-} 

suwinter

comeandgo said:

It’s only tax relief you get, it won’t be a lot.  I’d tell them and buy an extra round at the pub for them or something. 

Tax relief on £25 is… £5, so the OP is giving nothing? These questions get dodgier every week lol

Agent57

Charity donations should be private and voluntary.  Tell your friends to give whatever they want to whichever charity they want in their own way.  And you are free to give whatever you want to whichever charity you want.

Your plan may have sounded good in theory but seems a bit odd.  You keep changing charities from week to week?
Why not stick with the same one(s) for 6 month or a year?

Missy15

If your friends do not pay UK tax in their own right they would not be entitled to gift aid, so that's fraud to start with, if they are colleagues as well as friends then that's morally wrong, both to them and to your employer.
Just stop. Let them pay over their own donations, we have a tin in the charity shop where I volunteer or it can go through the till as a donation.  If it's for disaster fund charities etc they can set up their own direct debits and  tick gift aid box if appropriate. So it's not  difficult to donate.

Pennypitstop123

If you are asking what to do, I think you already know the answer....better to stop what you are doing before you get caught out. Just tell your friends you cannot do it anymore as you didn't realise it was wrong and they can then start donating theirs's independantly...it can't be that hard for them to do.

beth_i

er, this is illegal surely? You're only allowed to claim giftaid on your own money. Not sure how this got through as a moral dilemma tbh

Husbandofstinky

Keep as is, but I would pay the variance over as a seperate tranasaction periodically to an agreed charity as decided by your group. Explain why this anomaly has arisen, come clean and sleep at night. I personally would not be happy as a friend under the current arrangement due to you effectively (unfortunately) benefiting from this process, purely on the basis of principle.

Bloke40ish

Tax fraud and potential fraud against your employer.  You have more to worry about than a mora dilemma of being underhand with your friends 

enajsamol

What you are doing is fraudulent against your employer and HMRC.