Every year charities claim more than £1 billion back from the HMRC as part of the Gift Aid scheme. The scheme has proved to be hugely successful as an additional income stream for non-profits and is a way to give donors a clear say on what their taxes (or at least part of them) should be spent on. Since its creation in 1990, the HMRC has generated more than £60 billion for good causes and has contributed to making the UK one of the most charitable countries in the world.
Gift Aid is not all great, though. Notwithstanding efforts to simplify the scheme, some £750 million a year are left unclaimed and most people who have found themselves in the position of claiming Gift Aid for their charity would agree that it is a pain to do it (myself included). It is not always clear what income can be included in the Gift Aid report and what shouldn’t, when to claim it and how. Gift Aid is a great resource, but claiming it is often “bureaucratic, frustrating, and boring”.
Only, it shouldn't be so. And with KindLink it certainly isn’t.
HOW KINDLINK CAN HELP YOU CLAIM YOUR GIFT AID
We have worked with the HMRC to provide all charities with a simple, effortless way to claim their Gift Aid. All you need to do is to fill in this form once - our system automatically records your HMRC login details so you don't have to think about it anymore - and you are all set to go.
Each time you want to claim Gift Aid, you can create a report for the HMRC with all the donations you have either received online or recorded on KindLink. The system will show you a list of the eligible donations, which you can check once again before submitting it. When you click on the Submit button, we send it to the HMRC, so that they process your list of donations and send your deserved money straight to your bank account (at no point do we ever touch your Gift Aid, that’s your money!).
No more clunky spreadsheets, no more limits to the record you can upload, no more pain in claiming Gift Aid. Claiming free money for your charitable work should always be this easy!
You still have to make sure that you have valid Gift Aid declarations for the offline donations you record on KindLink (no need to worry about the online ones, as donors will always tick a box to allow you to claim Gift Aid). In a nutshell, you need to make sure that:
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You only claim Gift Aid on donations from individuals, who are UK residents and have paid the same amount or more in Income Tax or Capital Gains Tax in that tax year;
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The donor has made a Gift Aid declaration that gives you permission to claim it;
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You cannot claim Gift Aid on income received as payment for ticket events;
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If you claim Gift Aid on income from membership fees, you need to ensure that they do not give members personal use of the charity’s facilities or services, as that type of membership payments are not eligible for Gift Aid.
It's as simple as that. Join KindLink today and start claiming Gift Aid painlessly!
If you would like to know more about KindLink, visit our FAQ page. Alternatively, why not to drop us an email via our contact us page? We would be more than happy to hear from you.
