Gift Aid is a UK tax incentive that enables tax-effective giving by individuals to charities in the United Kingdom. Gift Aid was originally introduced in Finance Act 1990 for donation from 1 October 1990, but was originally limited to cash gifts of £600 or more. This threshold was successively reduced, until in 6 April 2000 the policy was substantially revised and the minimum donation limit removed entirely. A similar policy applies to charitable donations by companies that are subject to UK corporation tax.
Gift Aid was originally intended for cash donations only. Since 2006 however, HMRC compliant systems have been introduced to allow tax on the income earned by charity shops acting as agent for the donor to be reclaimed, although to operate effectively, the charity needs HMRC-approved systems to be able to record and track the progress of each item from receipt to sale, and confirm with the donor that the donation should still go ahead.
Read more about Gift Aid: Details, A Practical Example
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