Gift Aid is a brilliant government scheme which allows registered charities (including KLS) to reclaim income tax on a donation made by a UK taxpayer. For basic-rate taxpayers this adds approximately 25% to the value of any donation. So if you donate £100 we can claim an additional £25 in Gift Aid from the government. It’s that easy and will not cost you any extra. Higher-rate taxpayers can also claim 25p for every £1 they donate in personal tax relief.
However, charities are missing out on “hundreds of millions of pounds” because 23% of eligible donors do not use Gift Aid, according to the recent UK Giving 2021 report by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF). Gift Aid is worth £1.3bn a year to the charity sector, but according to the Charity Finance Group, more than £500m is unclaimed.
At KLS we experience this too. A number of people make donations to us each year (hooray!) but do not tick the box for us to claim the extra Gift Aid (awwww!). It’s a missed opportunity, as that extra 25% would enable us to work with more local people. So…
What do you need to do?
You need to make a Gift Aid declaration for KLS to claim it from the government. So, when you make a donation to us, simply tick the Gift Aid declaration box, or download the paper form here: KLS Donation and Gift Aid Declaration Form, or just ask our Tracy on [email protected] for help.
Higher rate taxpayers can claim tax relief
If you pay tax above the basic rate, you can claim the difference between the rate you pay and basic rate on your donation. Do this either:
For example, if you donate £100 to KLS then we claim Gift Aid to make your donation £125. You pay 40% tax so you can personally claim back £25 (£125 x 20%).
So the next time you make a donation, don’t forget to add Gift Aid.