Question: What happens if a donor donates to a charity /ies under the gift aid scheme but he has not paid enough income tax to cover the gift aid in the year?
When we speak about gift aid claims and declarations we are considering donations made to Charities and CASCs (Community Amateur Sports Clubs).
The gift aid declaration asks for the following:
1) Your name
2) Address,
3) A confirmation that you are a UK taxpayer and the donations you make to the charity be treated as gift aided donations;
4) And lastly the Date and signature.
Once you sign the form, you have the legal responsibility to pay the tax relating to the donation to HMRC.
If the donor did not paid enough income tax to cover gift aid on the donation, HMRC may take any of the following courses of action:
1) Request for the tax due from the donor; or
2) Go to the charity or CASC to request the related gift aid back; or
3) Disallow the charity from claiming the gift aid amount relating to that donation.
Therefore, if a donor has not paid enough income tax, then they should make their donations to the charities or CASC’s excluding gift aid declaration except if they have decided to pay the tax due on that donation. It is a good practice for donors to review the gift aid declarations they have made on an annual basis.
If you would like further information on financial issues or systems relating to your Charity or CASC, please contact us.
Keep the questions coming. We’ll keep answering them. Thank you.
