Gift Aid

Gift Aid is one of the simplest and most effective ways of giving to charity. It is a scheme administered by HM Revenue and Customs which allows St Richard’s Hospice to claim an extra 25% of the value of your monetary donation or sold item/s.  

This means we can raise more money from your donations at no extra cost to you.  

Gift Aid on donations of money/cash is straight forward. As soon as you have made your donation, if you are eligible to be part of the Gift Aid scheme and have confirmed this by providing a declaration, St Richard’s is able to add Gift Aid at 25% and claim this back from HMRC.   

Gift Aid on a donation of goods in our shops is slightly different. As the goods do not have any monetary value until they are sold, St Richard’s must act as your ‘Agent’ in selling the goods on your behalf. At the end of each tax year we will write to you to tell you how much money we raised from these sales and check you are still able to Gift Aid the items.  

To be eligible you have to be a UK taxpayer, paying tax on your salary, savings, investments, pensions or capital gains. All these qualify, as long as the total tax you pay is at least equal to the amount we, and other charities you donate to, can reclaim on your donations.  

For every monetary donation you give, we get an extra 25% from the government. So if you give £4, we can get an additional £1. A £20 gift will be worth £25 – with the extra £5 coming from the government. It also counts for donations you’ve made in the past, up to four years ago. 

With Gift Aid on donations of goods to our shops, we will claim 25% of the value of your donation within that tax year in Gift Aid, minus a 2% + VAT commission charge to cover the costs of operating the scheme. 

No. Gift Aid is taken from tax you’ve already paid, so there’s no charge to you. It doesn’t affect your tax status either. 

No. Once you’ve completed a declaration form, you won’t have to do it again for St Richard’s Hospice. You should however, let us know if your tax status changes by completing an online Change of Details form.  

That’s great. You can Gift Aid all your donations to different charities – you just have to tick the Gift Aid declaration for each charity and Community Amateur Sports Club you support, and make sure you pay enough tax to cover them.  

The current declaration terms read as follows:  

“I am a UK taxpayer and would like all my donations to St Richard’s Hospice made now, in the past four years and in the future to be treated as Gift Aid donations. I understand that if I pay less Income Tax and/or Capital Gains Tax than the amount of Gift Aid claimed on all my donations in that tax year, it is my responsibility to pay any difference. 

I will notify St Richard’s of any change in my personal circumstances, such as name and address, if I no longer pay UK Income or Capital Gains tax, or if I wish to cancel the declaration by completing a Change of Details Form”.  

You have a responsibility to notify St Richard’s of any change in your personal circumstances, such as name and address, if you no longer pay UK Income or Capital Gains tax, or if you wish to cancel the declaration.  

This can be done by completing a Change of Details Form. 

You can opt in to a separate Gift Aid scheme when you donate items to our charity shops. This lets us collect 25% more whenever we sell something that you donated, minus a 2% + VAT commission charge to cover the costs of operating the scheme.  

As the goods do not have any monetary value until they are sold, St Richard’s must act as your ‘Agent’ in selling the goods on your behalf. This is a legal contract between you and St Richard’s, known as an Agency Agreement.  

When you agree to St Richard’s acting as your agent to sell your goods, it is called an Agency Agreement and it’s all built into the declaration form. When you sign up for Gift Aid in one of our stores, you will be asked to review the terms of the agreement at the till, or via a tablet. Upon signing up you will receive an email which includes a copy of your Agency Agreement and Gift Aid declaration, for your records. Along with how you can contact us if your circumstances change.  

If you are eligible, we will claim 25% of the value of your donation within that tax year in Gift Aid, minus a 2% + VAT commission charge to cover the costs of operating the scheme. 

The terms you are agreeing to are as follows:  

I confirm St Richard’s Hospice Trading Company Ltd to act as my agent in offering my goods for sale, at a charge of 2% commission plus VAT which shall be deducted from the proceeds of the sales. The goods which I am offering to St Richard’s are my own to give and do not belong to another household. I am not acting as a business in bringing goods in for sale. 

As the legal and beneficial owner of the goods until they are sold, I understand that I have the right to keep all of the net proceeds of the sale but can choose to donate all or part of the proceeds if I wish. I confirm that I am at least 18 years old and understand that this agency agreement is a legally binding contract. 

I understand that if St Richard’s is unable to sell any of the goods, they will have the right to dispose of the goods as they see fit. I agree that St Richard’s will not be responsible for any loss or damage to any goods brought into the shop for sale. 

St Richard’s will NOT write to me to confirm donations, if the total value of the money raised, after the deduction of Commission from the sale of my goods in any tax year is equal to or less than £1,000 and the Net Sales Proceeds will be treated as a donation to (Registered Charity Number 515668 (England and Wales)). I understand that St Richard’s will contact me if the Net Sales Proceeds are in excess of £1,000 to give me the opportunity to donate the proceeds in excess of £1,000. 

I understand that St Richard’s will send me an end of tax year letter, even if monies raised are less than £1,000, detailing the Net Sales Proceeds and Gift Aid reclaimed in that tax year. Either I or St Richard’s may terminate this Agreement at any time by written notice. St Richard’s may vary the terms of this Agreement at any time by written notice to me. 

The only condition is that you are a UK taxpayer. You must also have paid or will pay an amount in Income Tax and/or Capital Gains Tax equal to the amount that St Richard’s and any other charities or Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCs) will reclaim in the tax year (from 6 April to 5 April of the following year). This is currently 25p for every pound. Please note that Council Tax and VAT do not qualify towards Gift Aid. 

The declaration gives St Richard’s and any other charities you support authority to reclaim tax from HM Revenue and Customs on your gift. By making the declaration, you are confirming that you understand this. Your declaration can be made over the phone as an oral declaration, in writing as a written declaration or online via https://www.strichards.org.uk/gift-aid/    

If you are donating goods for us to sell in our shops, you will need to agree for St Richard’s to act as your ‘agent’ to sell the items on your behalf, by completing an online Agency Agreement and Gift Aid Declaration via https://www.strichards.org.uk/gift-aid/ or by visiting one of our shops.  

You qualify as a UK income tax payer if: 

• tax is taken from your wages or pension before you receive them. 
• you have to fill in a self-assessment form. 
• you have any taxable savings (in a building society, for instance), or a pension plan, or investment income. 
• you have recently paid any capital gains tax, or expect to pay it in the near future. This could be on the sale of a property or some shares, for example.