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An educational trust provides education for children as an alternative to state education. Parents or pupils (or other 'connected' people) are often asked to pay for textbooks, exercise books, exam fees and consumable materials. They may also be asked to make 'donations' to the trust instead of school fees.
Whether donations to the trust qualify for Gift Aid or not depends on how the money is used, and if the cost of providing the education is considered a benefit for Gift Aid purposes.
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Payments for goods and services do not qualify for Gift Aid. So, payments for fees - including tuition fees and exam fees - and materials such as textbooks do not qualify for Gift Aid.
If a trust uses donations to meet (even in part) the cost of educating a child - including the cost of tuition, heating and lighting of premises, administrative costs and other overheads - a benefit arises and donations by parents (or other connected persons) will not qualify for Gift Aid.
If donations do not contribute to the cost of education - for example, where a trust charges full fees or uses other regular income to cover the whole cost of educating a child - then a donation - for example, to buy prizes for a summer fête may qualify for Gift Aid. To qualify, the value of any benefits given in return for the donation must be below a certain value.
Find out more about the benefit value limits and what counts as a connected person
For more help you can contact the Charities Helpline. Select option 6 for Gift Aid.
Contact the Charities Helpline
Read more about educational trusts in the detailed guidance notes
