Gift Aid

Gift Aid is an easy way to raise extra money for Whizz-Kidz at no extra cost to you!

What is Gift Aid?

Gift Aid allows charities to claim back the tax from sponsors or donors as income or capital gains tax. This means that Whizz-Kidz gets an extra 28p from the government for every pound donated. If you raised £1,500 and got all your sponsors to “Gift Aid” their donations, Whizz-Kidz could claim an extra £420!

How does it work?

Anyone can make a Gift Aid donation if they are a UK tax payer and have paid enough income tax and/or capital gains tax in that year to cover what the charity claims on your donations (most employed people will therefore qualify). Once Whizz-Kidz has received the donation we can reclaim the tax (which you have already paid) from the Inland Revenue. This does not cost you anything at all.

How do I go about making a Gift Aid donation?

Make sure that you tick the Gift Aid box on the donation form when you send us your donation. By ticking the Gift Aid box, you have completed your Gift Aid Declaration. You also need to make sure that you provide your full name, address and postcode in order for us to be able to claim back the tax.

If you are taking part in a fun event for Whizz-Kidz, all you have to do is get your sponsors to fill in their details on your sponsorship form and tick that they want to Gift Aid their donation/s. You must then send in your completed donation form along with your sponsor form/s.

Can everyone’s donation be ‘Gift Aided’?

Most donations can be ‘Gift Aided’ as long as:

  • It is a single donation (i.e. not the proceeds from a raffle or sale).
  • The person making the donation is a UK tax payer and has paid sufficient tax in that year to cover the tax we can claim on the donation (most employed people will therefore qualify)
  • The sponsor agrees to notify Whizz-Kidz if their circumstances change and they do not qualify for Gift Aid, or if they no longer wish the charity to claim the tax back on future donations.

Higher rate tax payers

If you pay the higher tax rate, you can personally claim relief based on the difference between the basic and higher rates. For example, if you pay tax at 40%, and give £10 to Whizz-Kidz, we can receive a further £2.80, making a total of £12.80. This £12.80 is called the ‘gross donation’. You can claim relief of 18% of this in your tax return, which reduces the tax you pay by £2.30.

Gift Aid and the ‘donor benefit’ rule

There is a rule known as the ‘donor benefit’ rule. This is when a participant is considered to receive a ‘benefit’ from their fundraising. For an event like an overseas challenge, Whizz-Kidz uses a certain amount of the money raised to pay for costs (travel, insurance, food, accommodation etc). Whizz-Kidz can therefore not claim Gift Aid on any donation or deposit from the participant or a donation from anyone connected to the participant e.g. spouse, relative or company under the control of the donor.

Sponsors who are not connected

Any sponsorship payments made by people not connected to the participant are eligible for Gift Aid.

Company donations

Whizz-Kidz cannot claim tax back on any company donations – they should be given including tax (gross). The company can then claim back the tax when doing their annual accounts.

If you need more information on Gift Aid please email us or call our Finance Manager on 020 7233 6600 or email us.