What Gift Aid is

Gift Aid is a UK tax relief that allows a charity to reclaim the basic-rate income tax you have already paid on your gift. For the Diocese of Shrewsbury, registered charity number 234025, this means an extra 25p added to every £1 you give. A £20 monthly standing order becomes £25 in the diocese's hands. A £500 one-off gift becomes £625. The uplift comes from HMRC at no cost to you, and over a lifetime of giving it adds up to a substantial amount.

Across England and Wales, Catholic dioceses claim millions of pounds each year through Gift Aid. The Planned Giving and Gift Aid Service at the Curial Offices in Prenton handles this work for Shrewsbury parishes and for direct gifts to the diocese.

Who qualifies

To Gift Aid your donation, you must be a UK taxpayer. The amount of income tax or capital gains tax you have paid in the tax year must be at least equal to the basic-rate tax that the diocese will reclaim on all your charity gifts in the same year. Most Catholics on PAYE meet this test easily. Pensioners with taxable income from a workplace or private pension also usually qualify. If you are not certain, the Planned Giving Office can talk you through it.

You do not qualify if you only receive non-taxable income such as some state benefits, or if you live and pay tax abroad. If your circumstances change, you can cancel a declaration at any time by writing to the diocese.

The declaration form

Gift Aid runs on a simple piece of paper. The Gift Aid declaration is a single-page form on which you state your name, your address, and that you want the charity to reclaim tax on your gift. One declaration can cover all your past, present, and future gifts to the diocese for the lifetime of the declaration. You only have to fill it in once, then leave it on file.

Forms are available from your parish, from the Planned Giving and Gift Aid Service, or by emailing Carol Lawrence, the Financial Secretary, at carol.lawrence@dioceseofshrewsbury.org. A declaration can also be made over the phone or by email if you prefer not to print and post.

What you need to keep on top of

Three things keep a Gift Aid arrangement healthy:

• If you change address, let the diocese know. HMRC needs your current address on the declaration.
• If you stop paying enough UK tax to cover the Gift Aid claim, cancel the declaration so the diocese does not over-claim on your behalf.
• If you are a higher-rate or additional-rate taxpayer, you can claim further relief through your Self Assessment tax return. This puts the difference between basic rate and your higher rate back in your pocket. You can then give that money on if you wish.

Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme (GASDS)

Not every gift comes with a declaration. People drop coins in the basket, tap a contactless terminal, or light a candle. The Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme exists for these. Under GASDS, the diocese can claim a top-up similar to Gift Aid on small cash and contactless donations of up to £30 each, without needing a declaration from each giver.

The cap currently sits at £8,000 of eligible small donations per year, generating up to £2,000 in claimable Gift Aid for the charity or community building. The claim is also limited to ten times the Gift Aid actually claimed by the charity in the same tax year, so the two schemes work together. Most parishes run a small but useful GASDS claim alongside their main Gift Aid claim.

How parishes handle it for you

If you give through your parish, the parish keeps your declaration on file and reports your giving to the Planned Giving and Gift Aid Service quarterly. The diocese then submits a single claim to HMRC. You will not see the Gift Aid arrive in any account of your own. It arrives in the diocesan or parish account a few weeks after each claim. Your parish treasurer or Gift Aid co-ordinator can usually tell you the running total of what has been reclaimed on your giving.

For one-off gifts

If you make a one-off gift to the diocese, perhaps to the Clergy Education and Training Fund or to a specific appeal, the donation form will normally include a Gift Aid tick-box. Online donations through MyDona ask the same question at checkout. Tick the box, fill in the address line, and the diocese will reclaim the 25 per cent on top.

The diocese keeps your details safe

The Diocese of Shrewsbury holds your declaration and giving record on its database. The diocese complies with data protection law and the Fundraising Regulator's Code of Practice. Your details are not sold or passed to third parties for their own marketing. You can ask to see, correct, or remove your record at any time by writing to the Curial Offices.

Setting up Gift Aid this week

If you give regularly and have not yet completed a declaration, this is the single highest-value action you can take for the diocese this year. Email Carol Lawrence at carol.lawrence@dioceseofshrewsbury.org or phone the Curial Offices on 0151 652 9855 and ask for a Gift Aid declaration form. It takes five minutes to fill in and lifts every gift you make from then on.