Gift Aid is a tax relief scheme set up by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) where UK donors can give a UK registered charity permission to reclaim the tax on their donation.
In this article, we’ll look at what Gift Aid is and provide links to the relevant pages on the HMRC website. We’ll introduce the key functions of tracking and claiming Gift Aid through Spektrix and also run through some of the required system set up in order to use the feature.
This article covers:
Introduction to Gift Aid
Gift Aid is a tax relief scheme set up by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) where UK donors can give a UK registered charity permission to reclaim the tax on their donation.
REMINDER: This article is an introduction to gift aid in Spektrix. It is your responsibility to ensure you comply with all UK legislation regarding Gift Aid. To get further information on Gift Aid in the UK, including terms, eligibility and making claims, you can read Claiming Gift Aid as a charity or CASC on the HMRC website and the Charities Detailed Guidance Notes on Gift Aid on the HMRC website.
In order to claim Gift Aid, you'll need to:
- Be registered as a UK registered charity
- Have received an eligible Donation from an eligible donor
- Have a valid Gift Aid Declaration from the donor
A Gift Aid declaration is a statement a donor makes that confirms:
- That they are a UK taxpayer
- That they agree to Gift Aid being claimed on their donation
REMINDER: For full information on donor eligibility, read Claiming Gift Aid as a charity or CASC on the HMRC website.
A Gift Aid declaration can cover one-off donations or multiple donations in the past, present or future. Gift Aid declarations should be collected from the donor, recorded and stored by the charity. Gift Aid declarations can also be cancelled within a certain timeframe.
REMINDER: For full information on Gift Aid declarations, including collecting and recording declarations from donors, specific time periods for declaration or cancellations, read Claiming Gift Aid as a charity or CASC: Gift Aid declarations on the HMRC website.
A Gift Aid claim can be made through various channels including through software like Spektrix. You will need details of your charity including regulator details in order to submit claims.
When making Gift Aid claims, it is your responsibility to ensure you’re claiming the correct amount.
REMINDER: For full information on Gift Aid claims, including how to claim, when to claim and when you’ll get paid, read Claiming Gift Aid as a charity or CASC: How to claim on the HMRC website.
Gift Aid in Spektrix
You can use Spektrix to track Gift Aid Declarations only or track Gift Aid Declarations and make claims.
When tracking Gift Aid, Spektrix will:
- Check if an eligible Customer has a Gift Aid Declaration on their Customer Record
- Prompt eligible Customers without a Gift Aid Declaration to add a declaration and indicate the time period for the declaration
- Record the various types of declaration (paper, verbal or online) and upload confirmations
- Track all eligible Donations, which includes the Donation portion of any Gift Aid Memberships and Ticket Donations
TIP: Customers can also choose not to make a declaration during the transaction and later backdate a Gift Aid Declaration. An eligible Donation can also be opted out of Gift Aid while retaining their declaration for other Donations.
Through Spektrix, you can send your Gift Aid claims to HMRC directly. To be able to use our integration with HMRC to claim Gift Aid, you'll need to be registered with HMRC Online Services.
When submitting Gift Aid claims, Spektrix will:
- Check for Gift Aid claimable Donations
- Determine if an eligible Donation will be submitted successfully or not
- Submit the claim to HMRC
In addition to these features, you’ll also be able to report and segment on Gift Aid and Customers with Gift Aid declarations.
For full details on using these features in Spektrix, read the following articles:
To get started tracking eligible Donations, recording declarations and making Gift Aid claims, follow the instructions in Enabling and Setting Up Gift Aid.
Enabling and Setting Up Gift Aid
Before you can track and claim Gift Aid in Spektrix, you’ll need to enable this feature on your system. If this step was not completed during the Implementation phase, you can do it by following the steps below.
Enable Gift Aid Tracking
TIP: Enabling these features takes place in the Settings Interface. In order to navigate to and access the Settings Interface you’ll need the Settings Administrator role.
If you don’t have this User Role, contact a Settings Administrator in your organisation to edit your User Account and add the Settings Administrator role.
Navigate to the Settings Interface > Configuration > System Setup > Gift Aid to turn on and set up either or both features.
Turn the switch on for the Enable tracking of Gift Aid Declarations option:
If you’re only using Spektrix for tracking Gift Aid, you can click Save Configuration to begin tracking Gift Aid. Move onto Setting Up Verbal Declarations.
If you’d like to also make Gift Aid claims through Spektrix, move onto the next steps to enable submitting Gift Aid claims.
Enable Submitting Gift Aid Claims
REMINDER: To be able to use our integration with HMRC to claim Gift Aid, you'll need to be registered with HMRC Online Services. Please have these details ready for setup.
Check the box for Enable submission of Gift Aid Declarations via Spektrix.
Additional fields will need to be completed with your:
Adding Charity Details
REMINDER: If you don’t have these details, you'll need to get in touch with HMRC's support team directly.
Fill in the next sections with the following information:
- Charity Name as supplied to HMRC
- HMRC Charities reference
- Username for HMRC Online Services
- Password for HMRC Online Services
You can click on the Test HMRC button to see if you have entered your details correctly.
Adding Regulator Details
TIP: You should be able to find these details on The Charity Commission website.
Fill in the next sections with the following information:
- Regulator dropdown: Select the name of your regulator. If you choose Other, you’ll be able to input the name of the regulator in the Regulator Name text field.
- Regulator's Number: A number assigned to you by the Charity Commission which your charity is registered with.
- Regulator Name: This text box is only available when you select Other from the dropdown. Input the regulator’s name here.
Adding Authorised Official details
TIP: The next section should include details of the person in your organisation who is registered with the HMRC as the Authorised Official.
Fill in the next sections with the following information:
- Title (optional)
- Forename
- Surname
- Postcode
- Phone number
Once all information has been filled, click the Save Configuration button to complete the process.
Editing Gift Aid Declaration Text
When making a declaration online, Customers are presented with a message explaining the benefit of agreeing to Gift Aid along with the official HMRC copy about Gift Aid.
The default text reads: "If you are a UK taxpayer, the value of your donation can increase by 25% under the Gift Aid scheme and at no additional cost to you."
If you would like to amend this message or add any further information, you can do so in the Settings Interface > Configuration > System Setup > Donations on Web.
TIP: Amending the Gift Aid message takes place in the Settings Interface. In order to navigate to and access the Settings Interface you’ll need the Settings Administrator role.
If you don’t have this User Role, contact a Settings Administrator in your organisation to edit your User Account and add the Settings Administrator role.
Update the text field Custom message for online Gift Aid declarations. The standard HMRC copy will always appear. Click Save Configuration.
Setting Up Verbal Declaration Emails and Letters
Customers can give verbal confirmations of their Gift Aid Declaration. A verbal confirmation requires that details of the declaration must be sent to the Customer. These confirmation details can be generated in Spektrix as an email or a letter. Your system contains standard versions of these, but you can upload customised versions.
You can make changes to the Verbal Declaration Email and/or Letter in the Admin Interface > Document designs > Gift Aid.
TIP: Setting Up Verbal Declaration Emails and Letters takes place in the Admin Interface. In order to navigate to and access the Admin Interface you’ll need the General Administrator role.
If you don’t have this User Role, contact a Settings Administrator in your organisation to edit your User Account and add the General Administrator role.
Verbal Declaration Email
Make edits on the Verbal Declaration Email by clicking on the Edit button in the lower right corner.
You can make changes to the Subject and Body of the email. You can use HTML in the body of the email.
The following data fields are required in the email:
- {Customer/Address/FullAddress}: Customer’s address.
- {Customer/FullName}: Customer’s full name.
- {GiftAidDeclaration}: Date and time period of Customer’s Gift Aid declaration.
Click Save.
Verbal Declaration Letter
For a sample of the Verbal Declaration Letter, you can click the Download link.
To upload a new letter, click the Edit button in the lower right corner and then select the Use a custom template option.
A Choose File button should appear where you can upload the template in Microsoft Word file format.
alt="Verbal Declaration Letter screen Choose File button."
The following mail merge fields are required in the template:
- «Customer/Address/FullAddress»: Customer’s address.
- «Customer/FullName»: Customer’s full name.
- «GiftAidDeclaration»: Customer’s Gift Aid declaration.
Click Save.
Gift Aid Memberships
While all Donations, including Ticket Donations, will prompt for a Gift Aid declaration, Memberships will only prompt for a Gift Aid declaration if the Membership has been set up to include a Donation element.
The Price or Renewal Price of Membership can in full or in part include a Donation that can be claimable for Gift Aid.
To set up a Gift Aid Membership, follow the steps in Setting Up and Editing a Membership and make sure to tick the box that says Gift Aid Enabled.
If you include a benefit, input an amount in the input field for Benefit Amount. The difference between the Price or Renewal Price of the Membership and the Benefit Amount is the Donation amount, which is the only Gift Aid eligible portion of the Membership.
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An Organisation creates a Gift Aid Membership priced at £100 that offers £40 in benefits. Only £60 will be claimable through Gift Aid.
Learning About Gift Aid
To continue learning more about Gift Aid in Spektrix, read:
On-Demand Training Video - Gift Aid
If you would like a guided walkthrough of Gift Aid in Spektrix, watch our Spektrix Training: On Demand video on Gift Aid. Each chapter will build upon each other. You can also select into individual chapters as needed for refreshers.
You can follow along with the corresponding articles found in the Learning About Gift Aid section of this article.
This video goes over:
- Setting Up Gift Aid
- Recording Gift Aid Declarations
- Gift Aid Memberships
- Gift Aid - Claiming
VIDEO TIP: With our Spektrix Training: On Demand videos- you can stop, restart or move to specific chapters. Click the CC option to turn on captions. Click in the Settings menu cog icon to control speed, captions and quality.