Shows what the charity reclaims, what you can claim back, and whether the donation moves you out of a higher band.
On the figures so far
£2,000 becomes £2,500 for the charity and costs you £1,000 — but only if you claim the £1,000.
Every figure came from you, and the gap is £1,500 — well outside rounding.
Refine it in 3 questions below.
The decision
£2,000 becomes £2,500 for the charity and costs you £1,000 — but only if you claim the £1,000.
£1,500 better than give without gift aid, on the same figures.
Each of these has to be true. Where your answers settle it we have said so; where they cannot, the test is yours to check.
You pay enough UK income tax or capital gains tax to cover what the charity reclaims. — met, on your answers
ITA 2007 s. 424
You have made a Gift Aid declaration to the charity. — we cannot tell from your answers
Donations to Charity (Gift Aid Declarations) Regulations 2016
The donation is a gift, with no benefit above the permitted limits. — we cannot tell from your answers
ITA 2007 s. 417
You pay tax above the basic rate, for there to be extra relief to claim. — met, on your answers
ITA 2007 s. 414
This is information, not tax or financial advice. It shows how the rules apply to the figures you entered — it does not know the rest of your circumstances. Worth checking with an accountant before you act.
Rates as at 6 April 2026 — the 2026/27 tax year.
The figures above are only as good as what sits behind them. These are the records HMRC would ask for.
| When | What | If you miss it |
|---|---|---|
| 5 April | The donation must be paid to count for that tax year. | It falls into the next year, unless you carry it back on a return filed by 31 January. |
| 31 January after the tax year | File the return, including any election to carry a donation back to the previous year. | The carry-back election cannot be made on a late return, and cannot be added by amendment afterwards. |
| 4 years | Backdate a Gift Aid declaration so the charity can reclaim on past donations. | The charity's reclaim is lost for those years, and so is your higher-rate relief. |
| 4 years from the end of the tax year | Claim higher-rate relief you did not claim at the time. | Out of time. |
Usually a tick box at the point of donating. One declaration can cover past donations in the last four years and all future ones to that charity.
You need the gross figure — what you gave plus the basic-rate tax the charity reclaims. £80 given is £100 gross.
On the return, in the Gift Aid boxes, or by writing to HMRC if you do not file one. The relief extends your basic-rate band by the gross donation.
Useful when last year's rate was higher than this year's. It must be elected on the return for the later year, filed by 31 January.
www.gov.uk/guidance/gift-aid-what-donations-charities-and-cascs-can-claim-on
It does, which means Gift Aid also helps with the personal allowance taper and the Child Benefit charge — often worth more than the income tax relief itself.
Three situations, worked through. They use the same rules as the tool above, so you can check the arithmetic against a case near your own.
All the relief goes to the charity. The donation is 25% more valuable to them than the amount you gave, at no extra cost to you.
£500 reaches the charity and it costs you £300. The £100 you can claim is the part most higher-rate donors never claim.
Inside the taper the donation clears the allowance withdrawal as well, so £4,000 reaches the charity at a net cost of about £1,600.
Every figure above comes from one of these. Where we have interpreted rather than calculated, the tool says so.
A Gift Aid donation is treated as paid net of basic-rate tax; the charity reclaims the tax.
A higher or additional-rate taxpayer gets the difference by extension of the basic-rate band.
The donor must have paid at least as much income or capital gains tax as the charity reclaims, or must make good the shortfall.
A donation can be carried back to the previous tax year by election on a return filed by the deadline.
Gift Aid donations reduce adjusted net income for the personal allowance taper and the High Income Child Benefit Charge.
It reduces the cost of giving; it does not leave you better off. A £400 donation costs a higher-rate taxpayer £300 and delivers £500 to the charity. Giving nothing costs nothing — the decision is about how efficiently to give, not whether giving is profitable.
You are liable for the shortfall — HMRC collects it from you, not the charity. Tell the charity to stop applying Gift Aid for that period rather than leaving the declaration running.
Yes, four years. A declaration can also be backdated four years so the charity can reclaim on donations already made. Both are worth doing in one go.
Goods themselves are not a Gift Aid donation, but under the retail Gift Aid scheme the shop sells them as your agent and you then donate the proceeds. That donation does qualify, and the shop will handle the paperwork.
A different and often better relief: the market value is deductible from income, and there is no capital gains tax on the disposal. For an appreciated holding that combination is worth more than Gift Aid on the cash proceeds.
If you keep your own books, these are the packages that handle Self Assessment and Making Tax Digital.
The freelancer and contractor favourite, free with some bank accounts.
From £0 with a NatWest, RBS or Mettle account, otherwise about £19/mo
See FreeAgentThe big all-rounder with the deepest MTD track record.
From about £10/mo, frequent 90% off intro offers
See QuickBooksThe scale-up choice once you have staff, stock or VAT.
From about £15/mo
See XeroWe may earn a commission if you sign up through one of these links. It never changes what we calculate, what we recommend, or the order they appear in.