Gift Aid Calculator

Gift Aid is the UK government scheme that turns a £100 donation into £125 for a registered charity at no extra cost to the donor. When you tick the Gift Aid box on a donation form, HMRC tops up the gift by 25p per £1 — recovering the basic-rate tax you already paid on the income used to make the donation. Higher-rate (40%) and additional-rate (45%) taxpayers can claim a further 25% or 31.25% back personally, either through Self Assessment or by writing to HMRC. This calculator shows three figures at once: the charity’s gross donation after HMRC top-up, your personal tax saving if you are a higher- or additional-rate taxpayer, and the effective net cost of the gift. A £1,000 donation from a 45% additional-rate taxpayer costs only £687.50 net while the charity receives £1,250 — a powerful multiplier for planned giving. Scottish taxpayers reclaim slightly different amounts (21%, 21%, 26%, 28%) depending on their band: the charity always reclaims at 20%, and you reclaim the difference between 20% and your top marginal rate. Gift Aid only works if you have paid enough UK income or capital gains tax in the tax year to cover the reclaim. If you donate £400 (HMRC reclaims £100) but only paid £80 in tax, HMRC will recover the shortfall from you personally. ISA withdrawals and tax-free benefits do not count as taxed income. Donations to non-UK charities, raffles, auction items above market value, and benefits received in return for donations (above strict de minimis limits) do not qualify. You can carry back the current year’s donations to the previous year on your Self Assessment return, useful if you were a higher-rate taxpayer last year but not this year. The Retail Gift Aid scheme also lets charity shops Gift Aid the proceeds when they sell goods on your behalf — sign one declaration per shop. For payroll giving (Give As You Earn), tax relief is given at source instead and Gift Aid does not apply.