On the National Trust website you can join for £72 a year and there's an option to say yes to gift aid giving them an additional £18.
How is this allowed? I thought gift aid was only claimable for a freely given donation that confers no benefit. The NT site has a long list of member benefits (inclduing free entry and free parking).
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I thought gift aid was only claimable for a freely given donation that confers no benefit.
You thought wrongly, I'm afraid. Free entry is covered by 3.19.2 and other limited benefits are allowable up to a certain value or % of the payment see 3.20 et seq here
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/charities-detailed-guidance-n...
So now you can join the NT (or other charity of your choice with a similar scheme) and enjoy the benefits with a clear conscience. Perfect timing for the Easter holidays too...
At NT's Dunham Massey, entry is (I don't remember the actual numbers, but let's say) £8, or £10 if you want to gift aid it.
WTF? It costs me more to give you even more?
It's like at Chester Zoo, where entry price is X, before they ask you to gift aid it, they ask if you want to make a £5 charitable donation "to the upkeep and health of the animals to keep them looking good & on display". Heartstrings. Erm - isn't that that the entry price / gift aid is meant to cover?
That's how the scheme works. If you make a donation that is at least 10% of the basic price, the whole amount (£10 in your example) is eligible for gift aid. If you pay the basic £8, then none of it is.
Thems the rules, use them to your or the charity's benefit as you will...
You're using too many words in one go that atlea simply won't understand. He struggles with "gift"; there's no chance he'll get his head round "donation". Let's face it, "rules" stretches his lexicon to the limit.
Better still - join the National Trust for Scotland - its cheaper than English NT but one still gets into English NT properties for free - and you also get Gift Aid relief.
Also, NTS does not allow fox hunting (aka trail hunting!) on its land whereas NT does.
Moral dilemma - get into English NT properties for free . . . or boycott them on account of fox hunting policy.
Yes, visit the houses and use their land and car parks for free, but at least I don't give them any money. And, if they ask why I am not a member of NT, I tell them.