Gift aid and fund raising
Background
Sports clubs whether registered as CASCs or charities may be able to claim 25% tax rebates under gift aid on certain
forms of fund-raising. The main condition to qualify for gift aid is that the payment must be a gift for which nothing is
given in return. There can be no obligation to make it in return for goods or services apart from certain small
benefits which can be ignored. Where a charge is made and the club wishes to restructure this by reducing the
charge and asking for a donation on top it is essential that the donation is voluntary and the member can receive the
goods or services without making the donation. This would apply, for example, to the ticket price for an event or
dinner. Of course if the member does not make the donation the club will make less profit from the event.
It is important also to remember that a gift aid claim is just that; it must be supported by appropriate gift aid
declarations from each individual donor even if the amounts are small. The burden of paperwork must be balanced
against the cash benefit from the claims.
Gift aid and particular forms of fund raising
Here are some typical forms of fund raising with a note on eligibility for gift aid. They will be added to over time.
Sponsored activities
Company and business payments do not qualify for tax rebates because they are not made by individuals. Neither do
payments by individuals in return for advertising and promotional benefits qualify.
Events including FUNdays
Entrance fees and charges for activities e.g. to participate in rugby fund raising events, do not qualify only gifts
mentioned under the general principle above. It is possible to charge an entry fee of ,say, £20 which would ensure
that the event breaks even and request a donation on top of ,say , £10 which would qualify for gift aid but the club
would be taking a risk that everyone might not make the donation. In this case it might be out of pocket.
Donations to the Junior teams
Individual members of the senior teams can donate money to the club for the benefit of the junior teams which is
eligible for gift aid.
Parent donations
Parents can give money to the club in addition to paying their child's subscription and claim gift aid on their gift.
However the donation cannot be a condition of the child's club membership.
1
Rugby House, Twickenham Stadium, 200 Whitton Road, Twickenham, TW2 7BA
Tel: 0871 222 2120 Fax: 020 8892 9816 Web: rfu.com
Other events in which members participate to raise money
"Sponsorship" by individuals of walks, swims, marathons etc where the donor gets nothing in return does qualify
and a special HMRC sponsorship form is available to record the gift aid declarations.
CB Officers/ members
Donations by CB officers/ members out of their own pocket can qualify for gift aid. Thus a CB officer/member might
receive reimbursement of expenses and decide to donate that money to the club. Please see the paper on Volunteer
expenses which can be downloaded from the CASC section of the website. Donations by the CB out of its budget do
not qualify.
Junior subscriptions
Membership subscriptions to CASCs do not qualify for gift aid but it is possible to restructure a subscription into a
compulsory subscription of a lower amount and with a voluntary donation requested as well. The donation has to be
freely given and the individual can become a member if the donation is not made. Thus next year’s subscription
might be set at ,say, £40 which would still enable the club to break even with ,say, a £10 donation requested on top.
The latter would qualify for gift aid but there again would be the risk that not all parents would pay it (see the
subscriptions paper on the CASC section of the website).
Auctions
There are special rules for the auction of items which have a readily ascertainable market value. Where a bidder pays
over that value the excess can be treated as a gift qualifying for gift aid if certain conditions are fulfilled. HMRC's
website contains a detailed guide on how this works.
Donations generally
A donation qualifying for gift aid can be made monthly, by direct debit or standing order or electronically e.g. using
Just Giving, BT MyDonate or Virgin Money Giving.
Important note for higher rate taxpayers
If the individual donor is a higher rate taxpayer e.g. at the 40% rate then he or she will also receive a tax rebate
which will be £25 on a £100 gift. In the case of a 50% higher rate taxpayer the rebate will be £37.50. In both of these
cases the club will still receive £25.