Giving to charity under Gift Aid can result in a win/win for both the donor and the charity.
Making a Gift Aid donation will reduce your tax bill for the year in which the donation is made if your total income is above the 40% threshold (£46,350 for 2018/19). Taxpayers resident in Scotland can save tax with Gift Aid donations if their total income, including earnings, is above the 21% threshold (£24,000 for 2018/19). Alternatively, you can shift the tax benefit of some or all of that gift back one year by telling HMRC on your tax return. This can be useful if your marginal tax rate was higher last year than in the current tax year.
The gift to be carried back must be made before you file your tax return for the earlier tax year. Say you make a Gift Aid donation of £2,000 on 21 December 2019. If you submit your 2018/19 tax return after that date (it’s due by 31 January 2020) you can include a claim in that return to carry back up to £2,000 of the donation you made on 21 December 2019, which will reduce your 2018/19 tax liability.
Gift Aid can reduce your income used to calculate the clawback of Child Benefit (income over £50,000) and the reduction in Personal Allowance (income over £100,000). It can also increase your higher rate or additional rate threshold, which determine whether you receive a Personal Savings Allowance of £1,000, £500, or nil.
To make a valid Gift Aid donation, you must declare that you will pay sufficient tax to cover 25% of the value of your gift in the year the gift is made. If you give £800 under Gift Aid, you must pay Income Tax and/or Capital Gains Tax of at least £200.
Action Point!
Do you want to make charitable donations before you complete your tax return?
