Changes to Gift Aid guidelines for partnership donations

15/11/2015

New rules on charitable donations made by partnerships will come into force from 6 April 2016 and will change the way Gift Aid declarations are made.

Under the current rules, one designated partner can make the Gift Aid declaration on behalf of all the partners of the business, provided that he or she has the power to do so. However, from 6 April 2016, when a business partnership makes a donation to a charity or Community Amateur Sport Club (CASC), the individual partners of that business will be required to make individual Gift Aid declarations in order to reflect the correct legal position.

As a result, for the donation to be valid under the Gift Aid scheme, the charity or CASC must be provided with a separate declaration for every partner, showing their name, full home address and the amount of each partner’s share in the overall donation – the way the shares are calculated and apportioned between the partners is their decision and does not have to be included. The share of each partner’s donation should then be entered on the individual’s own Self-Assessment Tax return.

When the charity or CASC makes its claim for repayment of tax to HMRC, the name and address of each individual partner must be recorded and shown separately on the supporting Gift Aid schedule.

For further help and advice on Gift Aid on partnership donations, please contact us.