Welcome!

Opening Prayers

Introductions Jan Boyce, Diocesan Accountant, Diocese of Llandaff Richard Jones, Parish Resources Adviser, Diocese of Llandaff

Contents Gift Aid – The Story The new Gift Aid Claims Process Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme

Q: What was the total amount of money claimed by Church in Wales Parishes during 2012 through the Gift Aid scheme?

Find the correct answer !... A:£1.2mC:£0.8m B:£2.8mD:£1.9m

A:£2.8m

Q: How much on average is that per church?

Find the correct answer !... A:£3400C:£1100 B:£1800D: £2020

A: £ 2020

Q: The total amount of Gift Aid claimed by Church in Wales Parishes during 2012 was £2.8m. This sum is the equivalent cost of funding how many full time stipendary ministry posts in a year?

Find the correct answer !... A:22C:68 B:29D:40

A:68

Q: If £25.00 per £ of income (excluding grant income) is the maximum amount of Gift Aid that can be claimed each year, on average how much do Church in Wales Parishes claim?

Find the correct answer !... A:£16.76C:£9.76 B:£24.13D:£19.14

A:£19.14

How do we claim it?

Gift Aid only applies to gifts of money from individuals who are UK taxpayers. People are often ‘tax payers’ even if often they think they aren’t! Remember that the tax status of individuals can change. The donors responsibility, but good practice can help.... When does Gift Aid Apply?

Gift donation of ‘goods’ to be sold for the charities benefit can be Gift Aided, but full records of the donor, the related donation and the connected sale and value of sale have to be kept. Usually felt to not be worth the effort for the average church fete or fayre, especially when on a lot of these occasions it is the same people buying other goods off each other!. When does Gift Aid Apply?

Sponsored events or activities can be subject to Gift Aid, as long as your collecting /pledge sponsor form includes the requirements of a Gift Aid declaration, usually with a ‘one off’ statement of Gift Aid declaration appearing once on the form and a ‘tick box’ Gift Aid option against each donor entry. HMRC template at b2.pdf When does Gift Aid Apply?

All Gift Aid claims must be supported by a sound audit trail so that the church can prove the claim was valid. Complete records for each donation must be kept safely for at least 6 full tax years after the donation, and these records must include valid Gift Aid Declarations covering all donations. (6 years after the last donation, if an ‘enduring’ declaration) The Evidence required

Declarations can either take the form of: Enduring declarations (“until further notice”) Or ‘One off’ declarations usually in the form of a printed envelope. The Evidence required

Ensure that declarations carry the latest wording as required by HRMC (last revised 2012) Destroy any old unused forms or envelopes Declarations that you hold carrying previous wording do not need to be replaced and are still valid The Evidence required

Gift Aid Declaration for Regular Giving NAME OF CHURCH __________________________ If you are a UK taxpayer and eligible to Gift Aid your donation, please complete the form below and give it to one of the church staff or post it to [Parish Office address/ Gift Aid officer’s /Treasurer’s address]. This will increase your gift by 25p for every £1 given (at current rate), at no extra cost to you or us. Thank you. Please treat as Gift Aid donations all qualifying gifts of money made from the date of this declaration and in the past four years. I confirm I have paid or will pay an amount of Income Tax and/or Capital Gains Tax for each tax year (6 April to 5 April) that is at least equal to the amount of tax that all the charities (including churches) and Community Amateur Sports Clubs that I donate to will reclaim on my gifts for that tax year. I understand that other taxes such as VAT and Council Tax do not qualify. I understand the charity will reclaim 25p of tax on every £1 that I give. Full Name: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Address (including postcode): _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Postcode: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Signature: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Date: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. NOTES 1. Please notify the church/charity if you: Want to cancel this declaration Change your name or home address No longer pay sufficient tax on your income and/or capital gains. Gift Aid is linked to basic rate tax. Basic rate tax is currently 20%, which currently allows charities to reclaim 25 pence on the pound. 2. Higher rate taxpayers can claim back the difference between basic rate and higher rate or additional rate tax. If you pay Income Tax at the higher or additional rate and want to receive the additional tax relief due to you, you must include all your Gift Aid donations on your Self Assessment tax return or ask HM Revenue and Customs to adjust your tax code. The Evidence required

There are 3 ways to claim: 1.Paper ChR1 form 2.Online 3.Commercial Software How do we claim it?

Option 1:Paper Claim ChR1 Only available direct from HMRC (cannot use photocopied forms) MUST be completed by HAND Only really practical for smaller PCCs (with 30 donors or fewer) making annual claims Can be used for GASDS too Basic form allows claim for up to 15 donors Continuation sheets allow up to 6 more per sheet

Option 2:Online Claim Only charities registered with HMRC can access the system MUST register with Government Gateway on- line Activation PIN is sent to authorised official Re-enter Government Gateway to activate on-line services

Online Claim: Software Schedules need to be in Open Document Format Need to have either Microsoft Excel, or Libre Office (available for free download) Proformas available from HMRC website or Parish Resources

Online Claim More details required You can enter aggregated donations of £20 or less up to total £1,000 per row

Making the Claim Log into the Government Gateway Access Charities Service – Make a charity repayment claim Ensure guidance followed with type of claim you are making, some of the questions are answered differently from what you would expect! Complete organisation details Attach spreadsheets – system will verify data submitted in correct format Submit claim

3. Third party software

All too much!? There is another way...

NEW!!!! GASDS

GASDS

GASDS - Eligibility PCCs, or charities registered for Gift Aid with HMRC, are able to use the scheme if you have: existed for at least 2 complete tax years before the year you want to claim for. made a successful Gift Aid claim in at least 2 of the previous 4 tax years without a gap of two or more tax years between those Gift Aid claims or since the last claim was made. not incurred a penalty relating to a Gift Aid or GASDS claim in the current or previous tax year.

GASDS – What Counts? To be eligible, donations must be small cash donations: small – donations of £20 or less, cash – in coins or notes. Standing orders, cheques, text or online giving etc are not eligible, giving/donations only. Money from raffles, tombola's, sales and other income that would not qualify for Gift Aid cannot be included in the scheme. From individuals, received in the building, and on which no Gift Aid claim has been or will be made. Cash collections received during services will initially be the most common examples of qualifying donations for churches.

Community Buildings Element GASDS

Conditions apply!... GASDS

Cash donations only Single gifts of £20.00 or less GASDS

GASDS - Evidence HMRC require you to keep three pieces of evidence, none of which should be a new requirement: 1. To be eligible, Small Donations must be banked at a bank or post-office branch in the UK. You must keep evidence which shows at least the amount claimed under GASDS was deposited. 2. Vestry forms showing the cash collected at services, which provides evidence of the donations that are eligible. These should be signed. An example form, with accompanying notes, is available in both Word and Excel format at 3. Evidence of the numbers attending a service, which will usually be your service register.

Claims via GASDS must be made within 2 years of the donations being made Claims can be made at any time, but must relate to a single tax year period (i.e. Claims for a calendar year should be split January to March inclusive and April to December inclusive). From April 2013 GASDS

Online Claim Community Buildings you need to enter the address of each of your churches (community building) together with the postcode Enter amount of donations received in that building which qualify

‘Top – up’ element is excluded from GASDS for churches within the Church in Wales & Church of England at the current time. This situation is subject to an on-going dispute with HMRC about church structure and matters of ‘connectedness’ and is expected to change at a future date. Until such times churches must only claim on a ‘community Buildings’ element for each church within their benefice/parish. GASDS

GASDS - FAQs Can we only include small donations received at services with more than 10 people? How will I know whether say, a £20 note and a £10 note are part of the same gift? Does this remove the need for one- off Gift Aid envelopes? What about collections received which will be given to other charities e.g. Christingle? Can we count cash donations given in a wall safe by visitors? We have a church plant – does it count as a ‘Community Building’?

1.Promote Gift Aid whenever you request donations. 2.Encourage higher rate taxpayers to maximise their Gift Aid 3.Make sure everyone working for the church understands Gift Aid 4.Give some easy examples about what the extra money will allow your church to do. 5.Appoint a Gift Aid officer who will be able to answer all queries and focus specifically on increasing the church’s use of Gift Aid. 6.Contact donors who haven’t given you a Gift Aid declaration, explain the benefits of Gift Aid and ask them to make a Declaration. 7.Include Gift Aid reclaims in your fundraising targets and reports 8.Put tax-effective giving on your PCC agenda each year 9.Make sure you have reclaimed tax on all eligible donations received 10.Ask for cash – not goods or gifts and use Gift Aid! Tips to Maximise Gift Aid

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