The Gift Aid Scheme has provided a very significant method of enhancing donations, at no extra expense to the donor.  It increases the value of donations to charities by allowing them to reclaim the basic rate tax you have already paid on the amount of your gift. This means for every £10 you give, we can claim an extra £2.50.

Higher rate tax

If you pay higher rate tax you can claim extra relief on your donations.  CARE can still only reclaim the basic rate of tax (20%) but higher rate tax payers paying income tax at 40% or 50% can reclaim the difference between the basic rate of tax and the highest rate of tax they have paid after making a charitable donation.  For more information about claiming back higher rate tax please visit the HMRC website. The following examples show the full potential of gifts made to charity by a donor paying tax at each rate:

	Donation	Charity claims	Total donation	Donor reclaims	Full potential
Basic rate taxpayer (20%)	£100	£25	£125	-	£128.20
Higher rate taxpayer (40%)	£100	£25	£125	£25.00	£150.00*
Higher rate taxpayer (50%)	£100	£25	£125	£37.50	£162.50*

*Full potential with Gift Aid added if higher rate relief is donated to charity. This is the best case scenario and it is often not that simple, as the donor may have other transactions or reliefs to consider.

Gift Aid Declaration

You can make a Gift Aid Declaration to CARE by completing the Gift Aid section when giving online or setting up a Direct Debit.  Alternatively you can download and print a Gift Aid Declaration and return it to us. If you already give to CARE, and have not yet completed a Gift Aid Declaration, we can claim Gift Aid retrospectively for up to four years.  If you make a declaration today, CARE can reclaim tax on all your eligible donations in the past four years, so long as you have paid enough tax to cover the amount we are reclaiming.   If you have any questions please call 020 7233 0455 or email supporter.relations@care.org.uk