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Gift Aid is a tax relief allowing UK charities, including churches, to reclaim tax on every eligible donation made by a UK taxpayer. This means that every donation will be worth 25% more, at no extra cost to the giver which can make a huge difference to parish finances.
How does Gift Aid work?
Parish churches must first register with HMRC. They then ask all their eligible givers (i.e. UK taxpayers) to complete a Gift Aid Declaration. The church keeps a record of all eligible Gift Aid donations and periodically submits a summary to HMRC who pay the reclaimed tax back into the church’s bank account.
Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme (GASDS)
The Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme or GASDS as it’s more commonly known was introduced enable charities and churches to claim Gift Aid on small cash donations, where no Gift Aid Declaration had been given.
A Small Donation is a cash donation of £30 or less. HMRC recently allowed contactless card donations of £30 or less (collected on or after 6 April 2019) to be claimed under GASDS. The majority of eligible donations will be received as offerings during church services, either as loose cash, card payments or as regular envelopes from donors for whom a Gift Aid declaration has not been received.
There are two different elements to the scheme depending on whether you are a PCC with a single church building or with multiple. Please follow the guidance below from Parish Resources and HMRC to determine which is relevant for your context.
Gift Aid training
Data Developments hold regular Gift Aid training webinars aimed at helping Gift Aid Secretaries (and treasurers) understand their role. You can sign up to each week or to all the weeks, and the course is entirely free.
The three-part course explains the requirements with practical examples and give useful hints and tips. Time is left at the end of each session for live Q&A.
Register for Gift Aid Secretary training
