A Guide to Gift Aid from Sustainably

What is Gift Aid?

Gift Aid is a tax relief allowing UK charities to reclaim an extra 25% in tax on every eligible donation made by a UK taxpayer. You can’t claim Gift Aid when making a donation on behalf of a company. You can only make Gift Aid declarations on your own taxpayer status when spending your own money. However, a company can claim tax relief on the donation when donating directly to the charity.

Why is adding Gift Aid important?

If you are eligible, simply tick the Gift Aid box and an extra 25% will be added to your donation, on top of the money you’ve donated. So for every £1 you donate, we reclaim £0.25 in tax and give it to your chosen charity, without you spending a single extra penny, and increasing the funds you raise for your favourite charities every day.

What do I have to do?

We reclaim Gift Aid on all eligible donations and automatically send this to your chosen charity on a monthly basis. When you donate, you’ll be asked to confirm whether or not you are a UK taxpayer. Gift Aid can only be reclaimed on donations made by individuals who pay UK income or capital gains tax at a rate at least equal to the amount reclaimed on their donations in the current tax year. If in doubt, please contact our helpdesk via hello@sustainably.co

How are donations transferred to my charity?

We automatically transfer all donations and associated gift aid to your chosen charity on a monthly basis.

How can I change my Gift Aid status?

Your Gift Aid status will be saved for the next time you donate. You can update this in your Settings if your tax status changes.

Why has Gift Aid been removed from my recent donation?

Not every donation is eligible for Gift Aid. To remain in line with HMRC guidelines, you may notice that we remove Gift Aid from your donation retrospectively when it isn’t eligible. See below for information on Gift Aid eligibility rules.

Benefits to higher-rate taxpayers

If you pay tax at the higher rate, you can reclaim tax relief on your gross donation at 20% (i.e. the difference between the higher rate of tax at 40% and the basic rate at 20%). Your Sustainably account keeps an accurate record of your donations to help you claim tax relief if you need to. Simply print out a copy of your donation history and attach it to your tax return.

What if I am not a UK taxpayer?

The Gift Aid scheme is unique to the UK. If you are not a UK taxpayer, you can still make a donation through Sustainably, but your donation will not be eligible for Gift Aid.

What if I don’t live in the UK?

A person living overseas can still claim Gift Aid provided that they are a UK taxpayer and can satisfy the Gift Aid declaration in the donation process.

What if my donation isn’t eligible for Gift Aid?

If your donation isn’t eligible for Gift Aid we’ll still send it to your chosen charity, after deducting our 5% transaction fee.

I forgot to add Gift Aid to a recent donation

You can add this from within your account with 24 hours. If you need to remove Gift Aid, please email us at hello@sustainably.co

Removing Gift Aid from a recent donation

If you added Gift Aid accidentally, you’ll need to email us at hello@sustainably.co and we can remove it for you, as long as you made the donation within the past 24 hours.

When should Gift Aid not be claimed?

Gift Aid should not be claimed when:

• You are not a UK tax payer (you should pay UK income or capital gains tax at a rate at least equal to the amount reclaimed on your donations in the current tax year).
• Your donation is being made on behalf of an individual, group or company.
• Your donation is being made in return for something (raffle, event, auction tickets or goods, services, ‘experience’ days).
• Your donation is being made to a close family member who’s taking part in an event and their charity is contributing to the cost.
• Your donation is being made to a charity that isn’t registered to reclaim Gift Aid.