Gift Aid is a welcome source of income for churches, and compared to the rest of the charity sector we are good at claiming what we are entitled to. These pages (pp26/27) from the Anglican Giving Survey show that 60% of Anglicans always use Gift Aid when making a donation.
But it’s still true that in the UK in total £560m of Gift Aid goes unclaimed every year, and some of this will be money that could come to churches, to further their mission and give them financial security.
The Church of England website provides detailed guidance on how to claim Gift Aid, but this page brings together other information on the topic, so you’ve got everything in one place and can see news as it happens.
Have your say!
HMRC is asking for feedback on how to make claiming gift aid digitally more straight forward, follow this link to submit your thoughts: Welcome | Questions by Optimal Workshop.
Making it easy – use the Parish Giving Scheme
If people give through the Parish Giving Scheme - the Gift Aid element is done for you, and is paid every month which helps with cash flow. It also helps Treasurers who don’t have to make a claim, and also only have to reconcile one payment a month.
Gift Aid and Contactless Giving
All contactless donations up to £30 are eligible for the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme (GASDS), just as anonymous cash donations are, up to the annual limit.
Some solutions offer an onscreen Gift Aid declaration and provide churches with the necessary declaration information by way of a report. Any subsequent donations made by the giver will be included in the report without the need for a further declaration.
For donations not eligible for GASDS, and where there is no onscreen option, churches can offer paper declarations for a giver to fill in. A template is offered here which is different from the usual declaration since it includes the amount of the gift.
Contactless is treated by HMRC like cash, and so if you use paper declarations – as with Gift Aid envelopes – one declaration needs to be filled in for each gift, so that there is an audit trail.
Related links
- This blog from Stewardship outlines ten things churches need to do to help with their Gift Aid claims.
- A Parish Treasurer explains how PGS makes his job easier