New rules that will lift the administration burden for charities claiming gift aid on the proceeds of donors’ goods sold by charity shops have been announced by HMRC.
The new rules allow donors to make a one-off gift aid declaration that covers donations of up to £100, or £1,000 of future sale proceeds, in a tax year. The charity will need to write to the donor only when sale proceeds exceed the amount.
Current rules require a charity to write to a donor before the charity can claim gift aid on the proceeds from each sale, so that the donor can confirm that they are UK taxpayers.
The new procedures will apply from April 2013.