Help centre / Giving & Gift Aid / Collect Gift Aid declarations
Collect Gift Aid declarations
Open the supporter, find the Gift Aid card, and select Record a declaration. An enduring declaration covers gifts from the past four years and future gifts until withdrawn. A gift only counts for a claim once a declaration covers it.
What a declaration is
Gift Aid lets you reclaim 25p from HMRC for every £1 a UK taxpayer gives. Before you can claim, the donor must make a declaration: a statement that the gift is their own money and that they pay enough UK tax to cover the claim. Without one, a gift can be marked eligible but nothing can be claimed on it.
Record a declaration
- Open the supporter from Giving, then Supporters.
- Find the Gift Aid card and select Record a declaration.
- Check with the supporter that they're a UK taxpayer and have agreed to Gift Aid. The standard HMRC wording is saved with every declaration, so you don't need to write anything.
- Enter the date it was Declared on. Use the date they actually signed the form or said yes, not today's date.
- Select Record declaration.
The supporter's address is saved with the declaration. HMRC needs their surname, a house name or number and a postcode, so check those are on the supporter's record. The claims page will flag anyone whose details are missing.
One declaration keeps working
Declarations recorded here are enduring, the usual kind. An enduring declaration covers gifts from the four years before it was made, and every future gift, until the donor withdraws it. So one declaration, made once, is normally all you need. If a donor only wants to Gift Aid one particular gift, record the declaration when they give and withdraw it once that gift has been claimed.
What makes a declaration valid
- The donor's name and home address, as held on their supporter record.
- The statement that it's their own money and they pay enough UK Income Tax or Capital Gains Tax. CharityControl stores HMRC's standard wording with each declaration.
- The date it was made.
Keep the paper or online form the donor filled in. The record here is your working register; the original is your evidence if HMRC ever asks.
If a donor withdraws
Select Withdraw next to the declaration on their page. Gifts received after that are no longer claimable, and the declaration stays on record with its withdrawal date. Nothing is deleted, so your history stays complete.