HMRC have updated their guidance about the wording of Gift Aid declarations – if you’re involved with the finances of a charity you should make sure your standard documents are up to date.
You’d think that confirming one’s a UK taxpayer would be a fairly simple matter, but evidently not – when ticking the box, some people supposedly don’t realise that a) you have to pay enough tax to coverall your donations, not just the one at hand at that instant, and b) that “tax” in this context means “income tax”.
So, the new recommended wording is:
“I confirm I have paid or will pay an amount of Income Tax and/or Capital Gains Tax for the current tax year (6 April to 5 April) that is at least equal to the amount of tax that all the charities and Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCs) that I donate to will reclaim on my gifts for the current tax year. I understand that other taxes such as VAT and Council Tax do not qualify. I understand the charity will reclaim 25p of tax on every £1 that I have given.”
To be honest, it would take a cold-hearted tax inspector having a really bad day to make a charity cough up tax repayments based on outdated wording. But, for the sake of a minute or two’s work, you might as well make sure your charity’s getting it right!
More detail here:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/charities/gift_aid/declarations.htm
Comments