Tax Relief via Gift Aid

Dear HMRC, I registered for my first ever self assessment recently, as I am now requested by HMRC website to pay some tax back, because my partner now receives child benefit and I am the higher earning parent and also above the 50k threshold for 2023-2024. I am now requested by HMRC website to fill in a self-assessment to pay some tax back for 2023-2024 financial year. While I am still waiting for my unique tax code to arrive in order for me to fill in my SA form, may I ask the following two questions? (1) The HRMC website said I should deduct the gift aid donations I made in the past financial year of 23-24 from my total 23-24 income, in order to calculate how much tax I need to pay back HMRC for child benefit purposes. So in my SA form, how should I declare this total gift aid donations I made? Should I put the donation amount somewhere in the form? Or should I simply put my total 23-24 income AFTER my gift aid donations being deducted? (2) As I pay 40% income tax rate, I was also told by HMRC website that I could also claim 20% tax relief for my gift aid donations made, and I could do so by filling my SA form, so should I declare my gift aid donations made in the past financial year somewhere in my SA form in order to claim the 20% tax relief? If so, should I also deduct this gift aid donations from my total income for child benefit tax repayment purposes? Or in this case, should I no longer deduct my gift aid donations from my total income for child benefit tax repayment, as I am already claiming the 20% tax relief on the same donations as I pay 40% tax rate? Please could you answer my above two questions? Thank you. When estimating

Hi, 
1. On the tailor your return section on the online tax return of you answer yes to the question Did you give to charity? This will open the section to declare the gift aid donations which will then update the calculation.
2. When you decalre the gift aid payments made this will update your calculation to give the additional relief you are entitled to and also update the higher income child benefit charge.  
Thank you.

Dear HMRC Admin 20, Thank you so much for your explanation, understood. I have started filling my SA, and one more question I have is: (1) I also have savings interest from multiple bank accounts, and the total gross interest before tax I received for tax year 2023-2024 was above 500 pounds. As I pay 40% income tax rate, would I need to pay tax on my gross savings interest? I am going to declare my gross savings interest in my SA, but I thought my banks would also submit the interests I received to HMRC automatically, so would I be double charged tax on my gross savings interest? (2) Another general question - if one (a friend of mine) has some miscellaneous income (e.g., online and offline tutoring, helping doing some gardening work) less than 1,000 pounds in total within a tax year, no matter the income is within UK or from overseas, would they need to register to fill a SA for this lower-than-1000 pounds income, or declare this income in their SA form if they already need to fill one? Their overseas income (less than a few hundred pounds if converted to pound sterling) always stays overseas and never paid into their UK bank accounts. Thanks again.

Hi,
 

Your bank does not deduct tax from your interest, they pay it to you, gross.  They will notify HMRC of your gross interest, but that's all.  You declare the gross interest received on your self assessment tax return and that sum declared, will be used in the tax calculations.    Where the miscellaneous income arises in the UK and is below £1000, then there is no need to declare it.  However, if it arises from outside the UK, this is foreign income and must be declared on a self assessment tax return, no matter the amount . Thank you .

Hi HMRC Admin, Thank you for your answers and sorry for my late reply. I also have a question regarding which qualifies for gift aid donation. For example, when I purchased an entry ticket to enter a museum, I was told that the ticket price I paid included donations and I also signed the gift aid declaration at the ticket desk. So, would the entire ticket price I actually paid, or the small donation included in the ticket price, qualify as a gift aid donation? If the former applies, could I reclaim 20% income tax on the entire ticket price I paid? I am a higher tax band (40%) tax payer. Thank you.

Hi,
If your ticket included a donation of 10% or over on the ticket price, and you signed the gift aid declaration, then your ticket would qualify for gift aid relief.
Thank you.

Dear HMRC Admin 20, Thank you for your reponse, I appreciate. A follow-up question is, if I also purchase a ticket for my children (who are under 18), would the ticket price I purchased for them also qualify for gift aid relief please? Of course I signed the gift aid declaration on their behalf. Similarly, I also pay membership fees for my children for local Boy Scouts, and signed the gift aid declaration myself. Could I claim gift aid relief on the entire membership fees I paid for my children?

Hi ,
 

Details on gift aid releif at : Tax relief when you donate to a charity   .

Thank you .