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A step by step guide on how to register for Gift Aid that makes online charity registration with HMRC as pain free as possible. In addition to how to register your charity for a Gift Aid number, I've included how to find your HMRC charity reference number and their Gift Aid contact number. For how to claim Gift Aid, you need my other Gift Aid guide.
You don't need to be a registered charity to register for a Gift Aid number. Unregistered charities and Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCs) can also register to claim Gift Aid.
Here's a list of the relevant tax reliefs, with links to more guidance.
Complete the 30 min online health checks for Income and Finance & Resources to find if you're claiming all the types of Gift Aid you could be, plus all the other charity tax reliefs. Plus, use Funding Finder, to find a huge range of grants and Help Finder to find lots of free fundraising support and companies that make donations.
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However, to claim Gift Aid and other charitable tax reliefs, you first have to register with HMRC, via the Government Gateway.
Go to Gov.UK and click on the ‘Create sign in details’ link. You need to register as an 'Organisation', not yourself. Make sure you make a note of your Government ID number, password and recovery word. Simply follow the instructions.
Once you're in the HMRC system and it asks you what services you wish to register for, select 'Other' for Gift Aid.
The online registration system times out after 15 minutes. You can close your browser at any time, but your progress will only be saved up to the point where you last clicked ‘Save and continue’ and an unfinished application is only stored for 28 days. I've found that the best way to avoid losing any data is to have all the information to hand before I begin. Most of this will be in the pdf the Charity Commission sent you on submitting your registration.
You are limited to 500 characters for each of the above, so may need to summarise down what's in your governing document.
Once complete, a page will display that shows you everything you've entered. It's a good idea to copy and paste this into a Word document, so you have a record. I also suggest making a record of your HMRC Reference Number, which you'll be given in the final screen.
Once you've submitted your online application to register for Gift Aid, you'll be given an HMRC reference number, which you should add to copies of the documents below, to be sent to HMRC by post, within a set timescale.
If you’re missing any National Insurance numbers, remember to post a copy of each persons’ passport photograph page, along with proof of their home address.
The final screen no longer asks you for the supporting bank account details, but I suggest that you send these as well - Bank statements (3 months). If your bank account has been open less than 3 months, provide evidence from the bank that the account is open, such as the bank letter notifying you of this.
If in any doubt, I suggest you call the HMRC charity helpline - 0300 123 1073. They also have other charity and CASC contact options.
Inevitably, it takes time to get all the information you'll need to register for Gift Aid online but actually doing so should take no more than an hour or 2. From there, it takes about 6 weeks to process most applications to register for Gift Aid. If more checks are needed or during busy periods, it may take longer.
Sports Clubs
If you're a sports club and eligible, you can register for Gift Aid as a Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC). You can find everything you need to decide which would be best for you, by going to my Part 1 Registration Guide and scrolling down to CASCs in Section 2.
Charities Based Outside Of The UK
If you're outside the UK, but have UK donors, it is possible to claim Gift Aid without registering a UK charity. Find out more here.
It's also possible to create a UK charity that can benefit from UK and US tax reliefs, but it must be dual qualified. That might potentially be quite useful, but I suggest you probably need a lawyer - here's more.
To check if a charity is registered for Gift Aid, it will have an HMRC charity reference number on the letter issued by HMRC confirming recognition as a charity and may also be on other correspondence from HMRC Charities. The HMRC Gift Aid reference number will start with two letters or an X and will include up to 5 numbers. If you know that already and just want to find out what yours is, click here to contact HMRC Charities.
Plus, 100+downloadable funder lists, 60 policy templates, 8 online health checks and the huge resource base.
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To access help and resources on anything to do with running a charity, including funding, click the AI Bunny icon in the bottom right of your screen and ask it short questions, including key words. Register, then login and the in-system AI Bunny is able to write funding bids and download 60+ charity policy templates as well.
