Archived news - Charities 2003
15 December 2003
Gift Aid - Donations
allowing free admission to view heritage property or wildlife
Charities with the sole or main object of the preservation of property
or the conservation of wildlife for the public benefit should note the following
extract from the Pre-Budget Report of 10 December 2003.
Gift Aid relief
Improvements to the Gift Aid scheme introduced in Budget 2000 have had the
unintended effect of widening the impact of the special statutory exemption
available to some heritage and conservation charities. As a result, these
charities have introduced schemes that grant free day admission in return
for a donation that attracts Gift Aid. The Government is determined to maintain
the integrity of the Gift Aid scheme and intends to take steps to close this
loophole in the legislation in Finance Bill 2004. The details of the measure
will be discussed with the charities concerned.
11 December 2003
Giving through the SA return – Charity list re-opened
15 October 2003
Chapter 3 (Gift Aid) and Chapter 7 (The Inland Revenue Inspection) of the detailed guidance notes have been revised.
Paragraphs 3.48.11 and 3.48.12 have been expanded to clarify disregarding the benefit of free or cut price admissions to a donor and members of his/her family.
A new section, 3.49, has been added to replace and expand on the guidance on auctions previously given at 3.33.
A new section, 3.50 has been added that deals with the subject of voluntary workers' expenses
Paragraph 3.15.4 has been amended to show how members of a partnership can specify the way in which donations from them are split
Section 7.4, has been revised to simplify record keeping in situations where an original Gift Aid declaration will not be available for inspection.
23 June 2003
New scheme for giving to charity through the tax return
From April 2004 Self Assessment taxpayers will be able to donate their tax repayments to charity using the tax return. This new way of giving has the potential to generate a considerable amount for the charities who participate. To be included on the list for donors to choose from, charities will need to provide us with some information. The application form link below gives more information together with the form to be completed and returned to us.
In order to be included in the list of participating charities, the charity must already be registered with IR Charities or make an application for charitable status in accordance with chapter 2 of the detailed guidance notes. If you aren't already registered with IR Charities, please follow the guidance in Chapter 2. If you are registering with IR or making an application for charitable status you can also send the completed application form to be placed on the list of participating charities. The Inland Revenue Repayment Reference No. will be entered by IR Charities when your claim for charitable status has been accepted.
Application form (PDF 12K)
2 May 2003
During the period 13th May 2003 and 20 May 2003 inclusive the IR Charities computer system at our office in Edinburgh is being updated and our staff will not have access to the system during this period. As a result we may not be able to provide our usual level of service and we apologise for this. In particular, we will be unable to process any repayment claims or deal with any enquiries about claims. E-mails sent via this website to IR Charities that would normally be routed to our Edinburgh office will also be affected, but we will endeavour to deal with these as quickly as possible once the system is restored. Please bear with us during this short period of disruption.
11 April 2003
During the period 15th April 2003 and 23 April 2003 inclusive the IR Charities computer system is being updated and our staff will not have access to the system during this period. As a result we may not be able to provide our usual level of service and we apologise for this. In particular, we will be unable to process any repayment claims or deal with any enquiries about claims. E-mails sent via this website to IR Charities will also be affected, but we will endeavour to deal with these as quickly as possible once the system is restored. Please bear with us during this short period of disruption.
31st March 2003
From 1 April, charities will be able to contact the new IR Charities' Helpline number, 0845 3020203, from 08.30am to 18.00pm, Monday to Friday. Charities should use the 0845 number in place of the previous contact numbers for Gift Aid, Payroll Giving, gifts of shares and land and trading queries. In addition, charities will be able to use the same 0845 number for VAT queries.
Chapter 4, Payroll Giving
Our guidance notes have today been amended to reflect the fact that the 10%
supplement to Payroll Giving donations has been extended to 5 April 2004.
18 February 2003
Annex 11.4
"Overseas Donations" has, today, been re-named and extended.
The Annex is now entitled "Payments to Overseas Bodies" Additional paragraphs
have been inserted to make clear what steps should be taken by charity trustees
when making payments to bodies situated outside the United Kingdom.
5 February 2003
Chapter 3 of the detailed guidance
on the Gift Aid scheme has been revised.
A new section, 3.48, has been added that deals with the disregard of free
admission to properties of heritage and conservation charities.
27 January 2003
Today marks the launch of a new local call rate telephone service for anyone contacting IR Charities. Please note the number and use it to make cheaper calls when you need our help and assistance. The number is 08453 020203.
