Updated charity guidance
The Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme (GASDS) was introduced on 6 April 2013. The scheme allows qualifying charities and Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCs) to claim a top-up equivalent to Gift Aid on up to £5,000 of small donations of money made without a Gift Aid declaration. A small donationis defined as a cash donation of £20 or less. Donations made by cheque, credit card, text or bank transfer do not count.
The aim of the GASDS is to allow charities to claim a Gift Aid style payment on donations received in circumstances where it is difficult to collect donors’ details (such as a bucket collection) or where donors may be reluctant to give them.
HMRC have recently published a new GASDS helpsheet that provides an overview of how the scheme works. In addition, HMRC have published updated guidance on both non-charitable expenditure and tainted charity donations.