How to claim Gift Aid online with Charities Online
How a UK charity submits a Gift Aid claim to HMRC through Charities Online: what you need, the schedule spreadsheet, aggregated donations, limits and how long payment takes.
The short answer
Charities claim Gift Aid from HMRC online through Charities Online. You either fill in HMRC's schedule spreadsheet with your donations and attach it to the online claim form, or submit directly from Gift Aid software. HMRC says online claims are normally paid within 20 working days.
Before your first claim
- Your charity needs to be recognised by HMRC and have an HMRC charities reference.
- You need an HMRC online services account (a user ID and password) with the Charities Online service added and activated. HMRC sends an activation code.
Two ways to claim
The online form and a schedule spreadsheet
Download HMRC's Gift Aid schedule spreadsheet, list your donations in it, save it, and attach it to the Charities Online claim form. HMRC has versions for Microsoft Excel and LibreOffice. Use the one that matches your software, and don't convert it between formats or rename its worksheet.
Software
You can also send claims straight from your own Gift Aid database or software, if it supports online claims. Claims of more than 1,000 donations must use software.
Filling in the schedule spreadsheet
Each donation needs:
- the donor's title (up to 4 characters) and name (HMRC recommends the full name)
- their house name or number
- their postcode, in capitals with a space
- the date of the donation, as DD/MM/YY
- the amount, to 2 decimal places, without a £ sign
One spreadsheet holds 1,000 lines. If you have more donations, submit more than one claim: HMRC's example is 1,600 donations split into two claims of 800.
Aggregated donations
You can add together donations of £20 or less from different donors and enter them as one line. Each donor still needs a Gift Aid declaration. On that line, enter a short description such as “Thursday club donors” (up to 35 characters), the date of the last donation and the total. One line can't total more than £1,000, and only add together donations from the same accounting period.
What a claim can include
- individual Gift Aid donations
- aggregated donations
- donations from sponsored events
- small donations under the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme. See our guide to GASDS.
Deadlines
- Gift Aid: within 4 years of the end of the financial period you received the donation in.
- GASDS: within 2 years of the end of the tax year the donations were collected in.
After you submit
You get a confirmation reference number. Keep it with your claim records. HMRC says Charities Online claims are normally paid within 20 working days of receiving the claim.
Common questions
How long does HMRC take to pay a Gift Aid claim?
HMRC says claims made through Charities Online are normally paid within 20 working days of HMRC receiving the claim.
How many Gift Aid claims can we make?
As many as you like. There is no limit on the number of claims, so you can claim as often as suits your charity.
Can we claim more than 1,000 donations at once?
Not on one spreadsheet, which holds 1,000 lines. Split them across more than one claim, or use software: claims of over 1,000 donations must use software.
What are aggregated donations?
Donations of £20 or less from different donors, each with a Gift Aid declaration, added together on one line of the spreadsheet with a short description. One line can total no more than £1,000.
Sources
- GOV.UK: Claim tax back on donations using Charities Online
- GOV.UK: Schedule spreadsheet to claim back tax on Gift Aid donations
- GOV.UK: How to claim Gift Aid
This guide is general information for UK charities, not tax advice. HMRC's guidance can change, so check the sources above before relying on it for a claim.