Gift Aid your donations | St Luke's Hospice

Donations to St Luke’s Hospice Plymouth could be worth more through Gift Aid – at no extra cost to you.

If you pay income tax or Capital Gains Tax and you give to charity, Gift Aid is an arrangement which allows us to reclaim the tax paid on a donation from the government, which means your donations will be worth 25% more to us.

There are two types of Gift Aid that can help, Gift Aid on money donations and Retail Gift Aid on donated goods.

When you donate money* to St Luke’s, you can make it worth even more, by signing up to Gift Aid. Gift Aid is an arrangement that allows charities to reclaim tax on a donation made by a UK taxpayer, which means your donations will be worth 25% more to us at no extra cost to you! This additional income really does make a big difference, so please don’t forget to Gift Aid if you are eligible. Find out more from HMRC website or see below.

*Money donations can be cheques, card payments, BACS payments, Direct Debits, Standing Orders as well as coins and notes.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know if my donation is eligible for Gift Aid?

Under UK law, certain donations are not eligible for Gift Aid. If your donation falls into any of the following categories, Gift Aid shouldn’t be claimed:

Donations made by anyone who is not a UK taxpayer.*
Donations made on behalf of someone else or a group of people e.g. you collect money from your friends and family and then made a bulk donation. Even if they are UK taxpayers, the donation is not eligible. HMRC needs a Gift Aid declaration from each of the donors contributing to the collection.
Donations made in return for something. For example, you are making a donation in return for a ticket to attend an event, most purchases of goods at an auction or buying a raffle ticket.

*If you are either not a UK taxpayer, or if you pay less income tax and/or Capital Gains Tax in the current tax year than the amount claimed on all your donations, HMRC may require you to pay the difference.

I am a pensioner, do my donations qualify?

You may still be paying tax on a private pension plan or a savings account, or capital gains tax if you sell either some property or shares. You are still eligible if you have paid enough tax during the year to cover the amount we are reclaiming on your donations.

What if I have agreed to Gift Aid to another charity?

You can support as many UK charities as you like through Gift Aid. All you need to do is to return a declaration to each charity that you support and ensure that you are paying enough tax during the year to cover your total annual donations.

Do I have to make a declaration for every donation?

No. You just need fill out a Gift Aid declaration and date it – then it will cover donations you have already made to St Luke’s and any donations you make in the future. There is no extra paperwork – we deal with the tax office to reclaim the tax. All we need is your declaration form.

What if I pay tax at a higher rate? Can you claim back the full amount?

Unfortunately not, we can only claim back tax at the basic rate. But you can request a rebate for the difference when you submit your tax returns and you can then opt to donate this to a charity of your choice.

As a higher rate tax payer, when you donate the charity will claim against your donation at the basic rate of tax (currently 20%) However, the good news is you can claim the difference between the rate you pay and basic rate on your donation. It’s the same if you live in Scotland.

All you need to do is complete the charitable giving section on your self-assessment tax form.

If you don’t have to send a tax return, contact HMRC and ask for a P810 form. You’ll need to submit it by 31 January after the end of the previous tax year.

Can I make an anonymous donation?

Yes, but if you do so, we will not be able to claim Gift Aid. If you do choose to provide your information, we will only use your details if you give permission and it will not be passed on to other organisations.

Gift Aid on Sponsorship Forms

Do I have to use the sponsorship form provided?

Yes please. We provide you with a form that helps you and us claim Gift Aid properly.

Please do not design your own as the Gift Aid form is a legal document and must include certain information to be valid.

Can I fill it in for my sponsors?

No. Please do not fill in donation details on behalf of your sponsors. For legal reasons, the Gift Aid declaration needs to be in the handwriting of the person ticking the Gift Aid box. For the same reason, all details need to be handwritten and not typed.

Remind your sponsors that Gift Aid means UK taxpayers can add an extra 25% to their sponsorship at no extra cost to them.

What details do I need to fill in?

To allow us to claim this essential additional income, your sponsors must:

tick the Gift Aid box on your sponsorship form when they sponsor you (but only if they are tax payers)
write their full name and title
include their home address (house number/name and postcode is the minimum requirement we need to be able to claim Gift Aid)
fill in the ‘date paid’ box on the sponsorship form when they give you their donation
avoid ditto (” “) marks. If a number of sponsors live at the same address, they must each complete the address and postcode fields
the name, amount, address and postcode fields must be filled out in the sponsors own handwriting.
donate individually. You cannot make joint donations, for example from Mr and Mrs Smith, as the HMRC needs to determine who the taxpayer is.

Gift Aid Declaration

Please complete the below form or download a printed version for all money donations. This form does NOT apply to goods donated to our shops.

Download a Gift Aid Declaration form

Title *

First Name *

Surname *

E-Mail *

Telephone number *

Full Address including Postcode *

Gift Aid Declaration: I would like to Gift Aid my donation today and any donations I make in the future or have made in the past 4 years to St Luke’s Hospice Plymouth. I am a UK taxpayer and understand that if I pay less Income Tax and/ or Capital Gains Tax than the amount of Gift Aid claimed on all my donations in that tax year it is my responsibility to pay any difference. I will notify St Luke’s Hospice Plymouth of any changes to my name or home address, or if I no longer pay sufficient tax or wish to cancel this declaration. If you pay Income Tax at the higher or additional rate and want to receive the additional tax relief due to you, you must include all your Gift Aid donations on your Self-Assessment tax return or ask HM Revenue and Customs to adjust your tax code. *

We collect this data to process your Gift Aid Declaration, using Consent as the legal basis. As part of this process, we will submit your personal data to HMRC. We would also like to contact you occasionally with information on St Luke’s. You can read more about how and why we would contact you below.

I consent to being contacted via:

Text message

Telephone

I do NOT want to receive any further information from St Luke’s Hospice Plymouth

If you give us your consent, using this as a legal basis, we may contact you about St Luke’s Hospice Plymouth’s events and campaigns, send you invitations and our newsletter, during the next 24 months via email.

If you give us your consent, we may contact you about St Luke’s Hospice Plymouth’s events and campaigns, during the next 24 months via SMS.

If you give us your consent, we may contact you about St Luke’s Hospice Plymouth’s events and campaigns, our lottery and raffle, during the next 24 months via the telephone.

Your information will not be shared with anybody else and will only be used for the purposes described above.

You can change or withdraw your consent for us to hold or to use your personal data for the purposes set out above, at any time, by contacting St Luke’s Hospice Plymouth’s Supporter Care team on 01752 492626 or funadmin@stlukes-hospice.org.uk

To read more about how St Luke’s Hospice Plymouth protects your personal information, please visit https://www.stlukes-hospice.org.uk/information-protection/

Contact Us

If you have any questions relating to Gift Aid for money donations, please call our Supporter Care Team on 01752 492626 or email us at funadmin@stlukes-hospice.org.uk.

Our charity shops play a huge role in raising the money we need to support our mission. By allowing us to claim Gift Aid on the proceeds raised from the sale of your donated items you will be helping us generate additional income at no extra cost to you, if you are a UK Taxpayer.

One bag of donated items could raise as much as £25, so with Gift Aid, this bag would be worth £31.

To sign up for Retail Gift Aid, please visit your local St Luke’s Hospice Plymouth shop. This cannot currently be done online.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know if my donation is eligible for Gift Aid?

Under UK law, certain donations are not eligible for Gift Aid. We can only claim Gift Aid on your donated items if:

You’re a UK taxpayer* and the statements you make on the Gift Aid Declaration are correct.
You’re the owner of the donated items. HMRC needs a Gift Aid Declaration from each of the donors contributing goods if you are donating on behalf of others.

Will you tell me how much my donations make?

Yes, when you sign up for our Retail Gift Aid scheme we are required to write to you once a year telling you how much we have made from your donations, and how much Gift Aid we have claimed back from HMRC.

How does it work?

When you donate your items to us, we are agreeing to act as an agent on your behalf, selling your items to allow us to reclaim the Gift Aid value. You can read more about the scheme on the Gov.uk website under ‘Selling donated goods on behalf of individuals’

I’ve signed up to Gift Aid when I made a cash donation, do I have to do it again?

Yes, Gift Aid on donated goods (Retail Gift Aid) is its own scheme and any sign up you have done when making a cash donation is not transferable on our records.

Can I donate someone else’s items in my name?

No, you must only donate your own goods under the Retail Gift Aid scheme.