SA Donate - Frequently Asked Questions

Contents

Q. How do I complete my SA return to nominate a charity to receive a repayment?

A. The entries you need to make are at section 19A on the full SA tax return (or section 12 on the short SA return).

19A.1 (12.7) This box should be ticked where the whole of the repayment is to be donated to charity. The amount donated will be the final amount to be repaid after taking into account any under or overpayment already on the record and not the overpayment for the year that may have been self calculated.

19A.2 (12.8) This box is completed where part of the repayment is to be donated to a charity and a specific amount must be entered in this box. Where the amount specified is more than the amount of the overpayment available for repayment, the donation to charity will be limited to the amount of the overpayment (including any repayment supplement).

19A.3 (12.9) The ‘charity code’ for the chosen charity must be entered here.
19A.4 (12.10) This box is ticked if you wish to “Gift Aid” your donation.
19A.5 This box is ticked if you give your permission for your name and address to be passed onto the charity. If this permission is not given, the donation will remain anonymous.
All donations made via the short SA return will remain anonymous.

Q. How can I find out which charities I can give to?

A. Please see the list of all participating charities.

Q. What do I do if my favourite charity is not on the list?

A. We cannot send your repayment to that charity. You will have to do this yourself. You could also ask the charity if they have considered joining the scheme. All of the information they need is on the HMRC website under charities.

Q. I don’t have access to the Internet, how can I find out which charities are participating?

A. Because there are over 38,500 charities on the list and the list is updated every 3 months, we are not producing paper versions. If you cannot get access to the Internet, you can either contact the charity to ask if they have joined (and if so what their charity code number is). Or, you can phone the HMRC charity help line on 08453 02 02 03 and we will check the list for you.

Q. What information do I need from the list of charities in the scheme?

A. If your chosen charity has joined the scheme its name will appear on the list in alphabetical order. It will also have a "charity code number" and it is this number that you will need to enter in box 19A.3 on your SA Tax return (box 12.9 on the Short tax return).

Q. Can I nominate more than one charity to receive a donation?

A. No you can only choose one charity. If you want to choose more you will still have to send the donations yourself.

Q. If I don’t know how much my repayment is how do I know how much you will send to the charity?

A. If you decide to donate the whole of the repayment to the charity, we will send you a calculation showing how much your repayment is and when it was sent to the charity. If you want to give the whole of the repayment to the charity you must tick box 19A.1 (box 12.7 on the short tax return)
Or, you can set a maximum amount that you want to donate. This means that if your repayment is more than your maximum limit the balance will come direct to you. To do this you must put the maximum amount you want to donate in box 19A.2 (box 12.8 on the short tax return).

Q. How can I decide how much to give to the charity?

A. You can set a maximum amount that you want to donate and you must enter this figure in box 19A.2 on your SA Return (box 12.8 on the short tax return). This means that if your repayment turns out to be more than your maximum limit, the balance will come direct to you.

Q. How does Gift Aid work on my repayment donation to charity?

A. It works in exactly the same way as any other donation you Gift Aid. This means that you can Gift Aid the repayment you donate if you have paid sufficient tax on your income to match the Gift Aid tax. All you have to do is tick box 19A.4 on the return (box 12.10 on the short return) and we will send the Gift Aid tax to the charity.

Q. What about higher rate relief?

A. Higher rate taxpayers will be able to claim the relief due to them in the tax return for the year in which the donation was made. So, where the 2005-06 return is filed in May 2006 and a repayment is donated to charity, that gift will have been made during the 2006-2007 tax year, and any higher rate relief can therefore be claimed in the 2006-07 SA return.

Q. I am entitled to a tax repayment but I don’t fill in a self-assessment tax form. Can I still donate some of it to a charity?

A. Yes. The SA scheme only applies if you fill in a self-assessment form but you can still use Gift Aid to donate repayments to charity yourself. All other types of tax repayment will continue to be sent to you. You can then, if you wish, make a donation to your chosen charity.

If my repayment is less than the amount I want to donate to charity, will you send me a bill for the balance?
No. We will only repay the charity the smaller of your actual repayment or the maximum amount you want to donate. This means that you will never be left with more tax to pay because of your donation to charity.

Q. Can I donate money to charity even if I haven’t got any tax repayment?

A. This scheme only allows you to donate a tax overpayment. You cannot pay other donations through the tax system.

Q. Can I make my donation to a charity anonymously?

A. Yes. All donations will be anonymous unless you complete a full SA tax return and agree to your name and address being given to the charity (box 19A.5 on the full SA return).