Gift Aid

Gift Aid

Didn't find your answer?

If a wife is a non-taxpayer & her husband pays tax at basic rate is there a way for her to gift aid her charitable donations without her husband having to give the money himself?

I cannot see a way myself but wait to be proved wrong.
Stuart Jones

Replies (3)

Please login or register to join the discussion.

avatar
By AnonymousUser
11th Jan 2005 22:06

Is this too obvious...?
If there is any legal reason why a wife and husband cannot arrange things so that she gives him the cash (without having to give any reason other than that he is her husband and she can give him cash if she wants to) and then he uses his credit card to donate, thus making it his donation, then I'm not sure I want to (a) get married and/or (b) live in this country. Not sure I want to do, or continue to do those things anyway, but hey, no harm in having yet another reason!


Thanks (0)
avatar
By JSJ54
12th Jan 2005 06:27

My views may be considered old fashioned but
I can't see why if we are talking about a married couple the wife can't "use" her husband's tax.

The Revenue publish in their notes on Gift Aid the following:

3.41 Donations from Joint bank accounts

3.41.1 If a charity receives a donation drawn on a joint bank account, and it has not been given a Gift Aid declaration by both account-holders, it will need to determine whether the donation is from the donor who has given a Gift Aid declaration. The charity may, however, assume that the donation is from the person who has made the Gift Aid declaration, even if it is authorised by the other account-holder, unless it holds evidence to suggest that the donation is from that other account-holder.

3.41.2 Similarly, if a credit card donation is received drawn on an account in respect of which there are joint authorised signatories, it can be assumed that the donation is from the authorised signatory who has made a Gift Aid declaration unless there is evidence to suggest that the donation is from the other authorised signatory.

3.41.3. If there is any doubt whether the donation is from the person who signs the cheque, etc. or authorises the transaction, the charity should ask them to confirm whether the donation is from them.

http://www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/charities/chapter_3.htm

Like you, I wonder where the country I used to live in has gone!

Thanks (0)
avatar
By fraserjopp
12th Jan 2005 17:15

perhaps not
A Gift Aid declaration says that the donor 'must pay an amount of IT and/or CGT at least equal to the tax that the charity reclaims'. Ergo a non-taxpayer should not sign a Gift Aid declaration in respect of their donations.

Tom Burrows suggested method would work to the benefit of the charity, but that's not what the quesion asked.

And yes the IR do spot checks, and if the name on the cheque doesn't match the name on the form, the charity has to pay the tax back. And can suffer an assessment on its other Gift Aid claims if a sample contains such errors. And spends time an money investigating or correcting the matter. Which is a waste of their resources.

So please (please) do use Gift Aid, but make sure the paperwork's correct, or you could do more harm than good.

Thanks (0)