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Gift Aid explained

If you are a UK Tax payer and Gift Aid your donation to the Barn Owl Trust, it means that if you give £10 it’s worth £12.50 to the Trust at no extra cost to you.

For every £10 you donate, we can currently claim £2.50 tax back  from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), provided you have paid sufficient tax within the tax year

This also applies to donations made to any other charities throughout the year. It is advisable to keep a note of donations given to all charities within a 12 month period. The total amount of your donations upon which Gift Aid can be claimed is limited to the amount of tax you have paid.

Flying Barn Owl Richard Tadman

When you make a Gift Aid declaration

For us to claim Gift Aid on your donation you will need to make a Gift Aid declaration. When you enter your payment details on-line you will be asked if you are a UK taxpayer and to tick a box if you would like us to be able to claim Gift Aid on your donation. This will generate a Gift Aid declaration form which will be emailed to you – one form can cover every gift made to the Trust from the date of your donation for whatever period you choose. It can also cover any gifts you may make to the Trust in the future.  It is advisable to keep the emailed form as you may be asked to produce it by HMRC at some time in the future.

Have you paid enough tax?

A tax year runs from 6th April one year until 5th April the following year.

To work out if you’ve paid enough tax to cover your donations, divide the total donation value by four. For example, if you give £100 in a particular tax year you will need to have paid £25 tax over that period. (£100/4 = £25).

Your charity donations will qualify as long as they’re not more than 4 times what you have paid in tax in that tax year (6th April to 5th April). The tax could have been paid on income or capital gains.

You must tell the charities you support if you stop paying enough tax otherwise it is your responsibility to pay HMRC any difference.

For more information about Gift Aid and higher rate tax payers please refer to the HMRC website.

What we need to claim your gift aid

  • Your full name.
  • Your home address (especially your postcode).
  • Details of your donation, and it should say that it’s a Gift Aid donation.

You can also email us, or fill in and post this printable Gift Aid declaration form.

Keep us up to date

If your circumstances change and  you are no longer a tax payer or if you become a tax payer please let us know. We also need to know if you change address so that we can keep our records up to date.