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If you are a charity or a Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC) you can claim back basic rate tax from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) on Gift Aid donations. You can also claim back tax deducted from other income such as bank or building society interest or tax deducted from income arising on gifts left to your charity in a will.
You'll find step-by-step guidance below on how to claim back tax in these situations, including how to apply to HMRC for recognition as a charity for tax purposes, nominating the individuals or agencies you wish to make the tax repayment claims for your charity or CASC, and how to fill in the relevant forms.
The guidance also covers special procedures for sponsored event claims and the time limits for making a claim.
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Before you can make a tax repayment claim on income that's already had Income Tax deducted from it - for example on Gift Aid donations or on other income such as bank/building society interest - you need to be recognised by HMRC as a charity or a CASC for tax purposes. Recognition by HMRC as a charity is a separate process from registering with the Charity Commission or another charity regulator for charitable status.
Likewise your sports club will have to register as a CASC with the HMRC CASC Unit in order to be able to claim tax back on Gift Aid donations.
You apply to HMRC by completing a CASC or charities application form.
Once you're recognised by HMRC as a charity or CASC for tax purposes, HMRC will:
How to apply to HMRC for recognition as a charity for tax purposes
How to register as a Community Amateur Sports Club with HMRC
Before you can make a repayment claim you need to nominate someone in your charity or CASC to be an authorised official and/or someone to be a nominee. This means that they can sign repayment claim forms and/or receive money on behalf of your charity or CASC.
You can nominate anyone you consider suitable for these roles - for example, your treasurer, an employee, a trustee, the charity's accountant or a claimant agency.
You can record your authorised official and/or nominee on your charity or CASC application form, (see Step 1) or you'll need to fill in and return Form ChV1 Charities Variations.
Use Form ChV1 to tell HMRC about any changes to authorised officials or nominees, to give contact or bank account information, or to report any changes to these details. Please wait until HMRC has updated your information before submitting a repayment claim.
Make sure you complete the forms in full and sign them. Failure to do so may delay your repayment claims.
Go to form ChV1 Charities Variations form
The R68(i) is the starting point for any repayment claim that your charity or CASC makes:
The form uses tables known as ‘schedules’ to record the names of your donors who have completed a Gift Aid declaration, and the amounts they have donated. It also asks for details of other income you've received such as bank or building society interest from which tax has been deducted
You need to complete these schedules to show the appropriate accounting period for all income received and the form will automatically work out if there is any repayment due to you. To avoid common errors when completing the schedules read the related guide below.
You will also need to provide payment details - who HMRC should make the payment to. Your nominated signatories must remember to sign and date your claim.
How to fill in the R68(i) 'Gift Aid and tax repayment claims
Gift Aid claims for sponsored events follow a slightly different procedure, as follows:
You must still keep all of the original sponsor forms available for any audit of your claim by HMRC.
If you're using the sponsorship form as a schedule to your repayment claim it's important to include the correct information on the form. The sponsorship form must contain the following:
There is no official form available for sponsored events but HMRC provides a Gift Aid Sponsorship Declaration Form that you can adapt to suit particular events.
Go to the Sponsorship Declaration form
You can only claim Gift Aid on the donations where the sponsorship form has been correctly completed by the sponsors.
Donors who want their sponsorship payments to be treated as a Gift Aid donation must:
Once you've completed your repayment forms, check them carefully as any missing information may delay your repayment.
Use the checklist below to make sure you've completed everything before you send your form to HMRC.
You should not send in any Gift Aid declarations with your claim.
You can make a claim whenever you like, but there are certain time limits. Once the time limit for making a repayment claim to HMRC has passed any tax paid can't be claimed. However, charities or CASCs are eligible to receive interest on backdated repayment claims that are received by HMRC within the time limits.
Claims must be made no later than four years after the end of the tax year to which the claim relates. So, for donations made during the year ended 5 April 2009, the final date on which a Gift Aid repayment claim can be made to HMRC Charities is 5 April 2013.
Claims by CASCs and charitable companies must be made no later than four years after the end of the accounting period to which the claim relates.
So, for donations made during an accounting period ended 31 December 2007, the final date on which a Gift Aid repayment claim can be made to HMRC Charities is 31 December 2011. For income received in the accounting period ended 31 December 2007 interest is payable from 1 January 2008.
To qualify for payment of Gift Aid transitional relief on donations made between 6 April 2008 and 5 April 2011, claims must be made within two years of the end of the charity's accounting period/tax year. You don't need to make a special claim for transitional relief - HMRC will pay it automatically along with your Gift Aid tax repayment.
When you've completed and checked your forms, return them to:
HMRC Charities
Repayments (Unit 361A)
St John's House
Merton Road
Liverpool
L75 1BB
Once HMRC receives your claim form, if everything is in order you can expect your payment within 15 working days. First claims submitted to HMRC should be paid within 25 working days of receipt.
If you make any mistakes or leave gaps on your form, HMRC may have to contact you or make further enquiries which can cause delays and may mean you wait longer for your payment.
Please allow four weeks for your claim to be paid before chasing progress.
If you follow the steps in this guide you should receive the right amount of repayment at the right time. However, if you have made an incorrect or duplicate claim, or you have received a payment for more than the amount you claimed contact HMRC Charities immediately to arrange to repay any money overpaid to you.
For more help you can contact HMRC Charities
