Church of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady

Did you know that your gift can be made greater by 28% at no cost to yourself?

Too good to be true?

Not at all, so long as you are a taxpayer!


What is Gift Aid?

Gift Aid Donation is a scheme started in 2000 and takes over from the Covenant Scheme.

Gift Aid is one of the simplest and most effective ways of giving to charity. Using Gift Aid means that for every pound you give, the charity you are supporting will receive an extra 28 pence from the Inland Revenue. For our Church this means that a £10 Gift Aid donation is worth £12.80 - a huge difference. Furthermore, higher rate taxpayers may reclaim as much as £23 from the taxman on top of this bonus for every £100 donated to the Church. (See below for details).

This is a very worthwhile form of increasing the income to the parish. Last year we raised about £3400 for the parish through Gift Aid donations alone. The most encouraging part of all of this is that it doesn't cost you a thing!


How does it work?

  1. You need to be a UK taxpayer (or get income from capital gains).
  2. Once you have completed a Gift Aid Certificate you will be provided with a number of envelopes. All you need to do is put in the envelope your donation of any amount, large or small, by cash, or cheque, and put the envelope in the basket at mass. That’s it.
  3. If you prefer you can set up a direct debit or standing order.

What's more - one single Gift Aid declaration can apply to all past donations you have made (since April 2005) and to all future donations you make.

More Details...

It requires only minimal effort in making out a Gift Aid Certificate. This only needs to be done once and can be effective for any length of time. Remember that any donation made which is identifiable with yourself can have the tax claimed back, and the amount reclaimed will be in excess of the tax paid.

When the collection takes place the identity of the donor is taken from the envelope number. The gift amount is recorded on the envelope by authorised individuals and is then entered into a computerised system. There are only a few people of the finance committee who have this information and it is treated very conscientiously and is completely confidential.

You will not have to keep records of your donation, this will all be done for you and you will have our record of your donations for which a receipt will be issued to you. This is usually once a year after the claim is made to the inland revenue. You will not have to deal with the Inland Revenue due to giving through Gift Aid although they have an ongoing right to inspect anyone's taxes. So no horrendous demands for tax returns as a result of this.

If you are interested you can download the forms to print off at home. Click here for the main form you need to fill in. If you would like to make a one-off donation click here for the form. And if you would like to pay by Direct Debit, please click here.


We do the math

EXAMPLE

How Gift Aid is calculated:

Cath O'Lick makes a donation of £100 to our Church. The Church grosses up the value of the gift, and multiplies the donation amount by 22/78 (or 28%) to calculate the tax it can reclaim, as follows:

£100 (donation) x  
22 (Basic rate of income tax)
78 (100 minus the basic rate)  = £28 tax relief to charity


If Cath is a higher rate taxpayer, she will want to calculate the tax relief she can claim. She is eligible to claim the difference between the higher rate of tax (40%) she has paid, and basic rate tax (22%) reclaimed by the charity (40% - 22% = 18%). Therefore, Cath simply works out the gross value of her gift to the charity (£100 + £28 = £128) and calculates 18% of that figure to calculate the tax relief she is entitled to reclaim £128 (gross donation) x 18% = £23 (tax relief to donor).

So, to put it simply, Cath reclaims 23% of the cost of her initial £100 donation.

Need more proof? Go and see for yourself with information from the government's own website http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/charities/gift_aid/basics.htm to answer your queries.

Or, if you want more information just ask any of the Parish Finance committee:

Martin Klust Michael Barwick Delanee Fernando

(Please note that the basic tax rate will go down to 20% after 5 April 2011)


Anticipated Questions

Do I have to have envelopes?

No! If you wish to contribute through a direct debit this can be set up for you. You will still get the envelopes but these can be used for the occasional donation.

How much of my private information do I have to give out?

The minimum. If you are setting up a direct debit or standing order then details of your bank sorting code and account details other than that your name, address and post code. Your telephone number would be appreciated. No questions will ever be asked regarding your finance.

Is this information given out to other organisations?

Absolutely NOT. Not even our parish priest has access to this information!

Is the information secure?

Yes, it is kept on a machine which is locked away and is password protected. It complies with the Data Protection Act.

Can I make my donation at another church?

Technically, yes, but this is not recommended. The receiving church is obliged to forward the whole contribution in the unopened envelope on to the 'owning church'. This means cash through the post and the benefits are lost in unnecessary expenses. There would be nothing to stop you signing up to the second church and using 'their' envelopes if this happens regularly.

Any other Questions

Please ask any of the members of the Finance Committee or email Martin Klust at
theclusters@talktalk.net or church@immaculateconception.wanadoo.co.uk.