GASDS: the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme explained
How UK charities claim a 25% top-up on cash and contactless donations of £30 or less without Gift Aid declarations: the £8,000 limit, the matching rule, community buildings and records.
The short answer
The Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme (GASDS) lets an eligible charity claim a 25% top-up on cash and contactless donations of £30 or less, without collecting Gift Aid declarations. You can claim on up to £8,000 of small donations a year, a top-up of £2,000. The amount is capped at 10 times the donations you have claimed Gift Aid on in the same tax year.
Which donations count
- cash donations
- contactless card or phone donations, which have counted since 6 April 2017
- each donation must be £30 or less, the limit since 6 April 2019 (it was £20 before)
These never count:
- cheques, standing orders, and bank or online transfers, though they can still qualify for ordinary Gift Aid if the donor makes a declaration
- donations that come with a valid Gift Aid declaration: claim Gift Aid on those
- membership fees
- a £30 portion of a larger gift
Who can claim
For donations from 6 April 2017, your charity must:
- have claimed Gift Aid in the same tax year as the GASDS top-up
- not have had a penalty on a Gift Aid or GASDS claim in the current or previous tax year
GASDS never stands on its own: without a Gift Aid claim in the same tax year, there is nothing to claim.
How much you can claim
You can claim on the lower of £8,000 of small donations, or 10 times the donations you have claimed Gift Aid on. HMRC calls the second limit the matching rule. HMRC's example: if you receive £100 in Gift Aid donations, you can claim top-up payments on £1,000 of small donations.
| Gift Aid donations claimed this tax year | Small donations you can claim on | Top-up at 25% |
|---|---|---|
| £100 | £1,000 | £250 |
| £500 | £5,000 | £1,250 |
| £800 or more | £8,000 | £2,000 |
On a single £30 contactless donation, the top-up is £7.50. The £8,000 figure has applied since 6 April 2016.
Community buildings
If your charity runs its charitable activities in a community building, you may be able to claim on more. A building counts as a community building for an activity only if:
- the activity has 10 or more beneficiaries there at the same time, on at least 6 occasions in the tax year
- beneficiaries are not charged to use the part of the building where it takes place
- the activity is open to the public, or a section of it. Fundraising events such as jumble sales, concerts and dinners are not charitable activities and never qualify a building.
A building used wholly or mainly as a home, or for selling goods, cannot qualify, except while your charity has exclusive use of part of it for a genuine charitable activity.
The £8,000 limit applies to each qualifying building. HMRC's own example: “If your charity has 2 community buildings, it could claim on up to £16,000”. If your charity is connected to another charity that uses the same building, the £8,000 for that building is shared between you, not doubled.
Since 6 April 2017, donations collected anywhere in the same Local Authority area as a qualifying building can count towards that building, not only donations collected inside it. If you have more than one qualifying building in the same area, HMRC does not set a formula for splitting those donations, but you must record which building you allocated them to.
These rules have more detail than fits here. Read HMRC's Chapter 8, linked below, before relying on the community building rules for a claim.
Records to keep
HMRC says you should record:
- how much money was collected, including each denomination of coins and notes
- the date it was collected
- that no individual donation was more than £30
- for contactless donations, the records produced by the contactless terminal
Keep these records for 6 years from the end of the tax year they relate to.
Time limit
You must claim on small donations within 2 years of the end of the tax year you collected them in. That is shorter than the 4 years for ordinary Gift Aid.
When to claim Gift Aid instead
If a donor is a UK taxpayer and is happy to give their name and address, Gift Aid on their donation is worth the same 25% but has no £8,000 limit, and it also raises the limit on what you can claim under GASDS. See our guide to claiming Gift Aid on in-person donations.
Common questions
Do donors need to fill anything in for GASDS?
No. GASDS is for small donations given without a Gift Aid declaration, so donors do not give their name or address. You do need to keep records of what was collected and when.
Can we claim GASDS and Gift Aid on the same donation?
No. Donations that come with a valid Gift Aid declaration cannot be claimed under GASDS. Claim Gift Aid on those instead.
Can we claim GASDS if we have not claimed Gift Aid this year?
No. You must have claimed Gift Aid in the same tax year, and the small donations you claim on are limited to 10 times the donations you claimed Gift Aid on.
Do online donations or bank transfers count for GASDS?
No. Only cash and contactless donations count. Cheques, standing orders and bank or online transfers are never eligible for GASDS, though they can still qualify for Gift Aid with a declaration.
Sources
- GOV.UK: Claiming a top-up payment on small charitable donations
- HMRC: Charities detailed guidance notes, Chapter 8: The Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme
- 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.