Gift Aid: which donations can charities and community amateur sports clubs (CASCs) claim relief on?

New HMRC publication outlines the types of payment that Gift Aid can and cannot be claimed on.

In its publication Gift Aid: what donations charities and CASCs can claim on, HMRC highlights that Gift Aid cannot be claimed on:

  • payments for goods and services;
  • donations of money from a company;
  • gifts made on behalf of other people, for example, a membership subscription paid on behalf of somebody else;
  • gifts that come with a condition about repayment;
  • gifts that come with a condition that the charity buys goods or services from the donor;
  • payments received in return for goods or services for example admission to a concert or a fee for a sponsored challenge;
  • a ‘minimum donation’ where there is no choice about payment;
  • gifts made using ‘charity vouchers’ or ‘charity cheques’;
  • donations received before the date that HMRC accepts your organisation as a CASC or a charity for tax purposes.

In the section on charity membership fees they highlight that:

 “To qualify for Gift Aid, charity subscription payments must be for membership only. They must not give members personal use of the charity’s facilities or services” and they state that “CASCs can’t claim Gift Aid on membership payments because members are given personal access to the club’s facilities or services.”