How to Gift Aid
If you're donating online to one of our appeals then you just need to tick the box confirming that you're allowing Leicester Animal Aid to reclaim the tax you have paid on your donation.
You can also sign the Gift Aid declaration and send it back to us. We are able to claim for donations you have made in the past, as well as today and in the future.
How it works
As a taxpayer, you'll already have paid tax on any money you donate to charity. If you sign a Gift Aid declaration or tick the Gift Aid box on our online donation forms, we are able to claim back the tax you originally paid at the basic rate of 20%.
Here's an example:
You earn £125 and £25 is deducted from this at the basic rate of 20%. This leaves you with £100. You then donate the £100 to charity through Gift Aid.
The charity can claim an extra £25 (the tax you paid at the basic rate) from the Government to make your total donation £125.
In other words, L.A.A. can claim 25p for every £1 you donate.
Make sure you've paid enough tax
If you give through Gift Aid you need to make sure that you've actually paid the amount of tax that the charity will claim back. For example, if you donate £100 in a tax year, you must have paid at least £25 tax over the year.
You don't have to be working to pay tax. The tax could have been paid in the following ways:
- Income
- Savings
- Investments or rental income
- Capital gains
Higher rate taxpayers
If you pay tax at the higher rate of 40% or above, you can claim back the difference between the higher and basic rate on the value of your donation:
- through your Self Assessment tax return
- by contacting HMRC and asking them to amend your tax code
Here's an example:
You donate £100 to charity through Gift Aid - we claim 20% to make your donation £125. You pay 50% tax so you can personally claim back £37.50 (£125 x 30%).