Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme

Churches are invited to take advantage of the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme (GASDS). This scheme provides the opportunity for all churches with a Gift Aid scheme to receive additional income in respect of non Gift Aid small cash donations.

This scheme is intended to cover plate collections, wall-boxes and envelope scheme donations where the individual donor has not provided a Gift Aid declaration.  A threshold of up to a maximum of £8,000 per tax year given in this way can be used to claim @ 25% thus providing additional income to your church of up to £2,000pa.  There are qualifying criteria such as each individual cash donation cannot exceed £30 and cheques cannot be included.  For further details please go to the HMRC website. 

2015 Gift Aid declaration update

The template declarations were amended and published 21 October 2015 for use by April 2016. HMRC recommends using the new declaration now. Charities and CASCs holding stocks of printed materials that were ordered and printed before the new declaration was amended, can use up their current stock before using the new declaration. Further information is available from HMRC Gift Aid Declarations

We have attached guidance for charities using gift aid envelopes, further information from Envelope Systems

Gift Aid Online

Another development is to the existing Gift Aid scheme where HMRC is moving to an on-line system for the submission of Gift Aid claims.

You will still be required to obtain specific information about each Gift Aid donor but there will now be three options in how to make a claim.

1) Claim using an on-line form

2) Claim through a separate database

3) Claim using a new paper form.

Further information can be found on the HMRC website.