Gift Aid is a simple way for your charity or Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC) to increase the value of gifts of money you receive from UK taxpayers.
This toolkit is the easiest way for you to start claiming Gift Aid from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). All you need are a computer and a printer, it has everything else you need to:
The resources in this toolkit are stored as PDFs. PDF is a file format that lets you view and print a document in a style which matches the look and feel of the paper version - including fonts, colours, images and layout.
To view and print these documents you need to use a PDF file viewer such as Adobe Acrobat Reader which is available to download free of charge from the Adobe website.
Before you apply to be recognised for Gift Aid, you need to consider whether your charity should be registered with a charity regulator. If you are not sure whether you need to register you should contact the relevant regulator to find out.
The charity regulator for England and Wales is the Charity Commission. If your charity is established in England or Wales and your annual income is more than £5,000, you must register with the Commission before you can apply for Gift Aid (unless you are an exempt body).
Find out more on the Charity Commission website (Opens new window) - www.charitycommission.gov.uk
If your charity is established in Scotland, you need to apply to the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR), if you are required to register, before applying to be recognised for Gift Aid.
Find out more on the OSCR website (Opens new window) - www.oscr.org.uk
If your charity is in Northern Ireland or in England or Wales (but you do not have to register with the Charity Commission) all you need to do is write to HMRC Charities
CASCs must be registered with HMRC Charities. If you want to register a CASC, please see 'help sheet 7 (PDF 236K) - Community Amateur Sports Clubs'.
Once you have either registered with a charity regulator (or decided that you don’t need to do so) you can apply to HMRC to be recognised for Gift Aid. To do that you need to complete the HMRC Charities Application Form (ChA1) for charities or the CASC Registration Form (CASC(A1) and send it to HMRC.
If your charity or CASC has already been accepted by HMRC for Gift Aid, you don’t need to apply again.
HMRC will check your application to see if you are entitled to claim Gift Aid, if no extra information is needed, they will write to you with your unique reference number so you can start claiming Gift Aid.
Please note that there is a different application procedure for CASCs.
Download ChA1 Charities Application form
Download CASC A1 Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC) registration form
There are 12 helpsheets below which explain the basics and answer some frequently asked questions about Gift Aid. They also link to the HMRC website for further information.
Look out for the Toolkit tips on the helpsheets. They highlight tips that you can use to make tasks easier during the claim process.
Helpsheet 1: What is Gift Aid? (PDF
324K)
Helpsheet 2: What is a Gift Aid declaration?
(PDF 169K)
Helpsheet 3: What can I claim Gift Aid on?
(PDF 204K)
Helpsheet 4: What is a benefit for
Gift Aid purposes? (PDF 206K)
Helpsheet 5: Do I need to keep records
of Gift Aid donations? (PDF 222K)
Helpsheet 6: Is my charity a trust or a company?
(PDF 289K)
Helpsheet 7: Community Amateur Sports Clubs
(PDF 236K)
Helpsheet 8: How do I run a sponsored event
and claim Gift Aid? (PDF 198K)
Helpsheet 9: How do I claim Gift Aid
and how often can I claim? (PDF 184K)
Helpsheet 10: How should I list donations
on the schedule? (PDF 194K)
Helpsheet 11: What are the time limits for
claiming Gift Aid? (PDF 168K)
Helpsheet 12: What happens if my charity
is selected for a Gift Aid audit? (PDF 200K)
Use form R68 to claim tax repayments for your charity or CASC. This claim form will automatically help you to claim the correct amount as you fill in the boxes. The guidance for each form gives you step-by-step help to ensure you fill in the form correctly.
Use the Gift Aid declaration form to make a Gift Aid donation to a charity or CASC or use the form if you’re a charity or CASC to give to your supporters.
Download the Gift Aid declaration form
Use the Sponsorship and Gift Aid declaration form to make a Gift Aid donation to a charity or CASC from a sponsored event, or use the form if you're a charity or CASC to give to your supporters.
Download the Sponsorship and Gift Aid declaration form
Sample posters and flyers to help you promote Gift Aid to your supporters
Posters
Poster – charitable donations
version 01 (PDF 223K)
Poster – charitable donations
version 02 (PDF 260K)
Poster – sponsorship 01 (PDF
196K)
Poster – sponsorship 02 (PDF
185K)
Flyers
What is Gift Aid: charitable donations
flyer (PDF 694K)
What is Gift Aid: sponsorship flyer
(PDF 506K)
