Some charities fail to make proper Gift Aid returns
Howard Lake | 19 November 2018 | News
HMRC has announced that claims for incorrect amounts under Gift Aid is one of the most common mistakes its staff come across in dealing with charities.
According to HMRC, one of these mistakes if for charities to enter the total donations collected rather than the total eligible amount. If charities collect donations greater than the maximum specified amount for the year, (£8,000 from 6 April 2016) they should only enter the maximum amount rather than the actual amount collected.
Other errors include:
- out-of-date GASDS claims
- errors completing the paper claim form
- claims for non-qualifying donations, for example, joint donations or company donations.
HMRC also published a free step-by-step online guide to help charities complete their Gift Aid donations schedule. The guide tells charities how to claim tax back on eligible donations, use the right software, complete the schedule, and fill in the form.
Earlier this year HMRC commissioned research on Gift Aid which estimated that donations are worth £8.9bn. The research also found that charities were losing out on £600 million of gift aid donations not claimed while £179 million is being claimed erroneously by people who don’t understand the requirements of Gift Aid.
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About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.