WI Membership Subscriptions and Gift Aid

WI Membership Subscriptions and Gift Aid

The WI is able to reclaim the basic rate tax paid on the total subscription from HMRC, provided that:

i) The member is a taxpayer, and

ii) The member does not receive benefits of more than 25% of the subscription paid. For Gift Aid purposes, the provision of WI Life does not constitute a benefit, nor is the right to attend WI meetings if this opportunity is also available to non-members at no cost. Please see the further guidance below on ‘Benefits received by members’.

WI can claim 25p in every £1 of subscription. Tax can be reclaimed for up to four prior years.

HMRC Guidance

HMRC provides detailed and helpful guidance about the Gift Aid scheme on its website at
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/charities/gift_aid/

It also provides an online Gift Aid toolkit including printable helpsheets on specific aspects at

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/charities/gift-aid-toolkit.htm

Key points are summarised in the following sections of this guidance note.

Applying to HMRC for recognition as a charity for tax purposes

Before making a claim for Gift Aid WIs must be recognised as a charity for tax purposes. This is achieved by completing HMRC charities application form ChA1. WIs that are not registered with the Charities Commission you will need to provide a copy of the signed constitution; if this is not available within your WI then you should contact the NFWI to request a copy.

A separate guidance note is available on the Moodle to help with completing form ChA1.

Gift Aid declarations

The WI must obtain a Gift Aid declaration from each member who wishes to join the scheme. The declaration must meet certain requirements from HMRC, as described in HMRC’s helpsheet at
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/charities/helpsheet-2.pdf

The attached declaration form meets HMRC’s requirements.

Gift Aid claims

From October 2013 there are two ways for WIs to make Gift Aid claims.

1.  Claim manually using a paper claim form ChR1

The form must be ordered from HMRC Charities Helpline on 0845 302 0203. It must be filled in by hand, including a list of donor details, and returned by post to HMRC. Each form can be used for up to 90 donors and the WI can fill in as many forms as it requires. The form requires each letter to be entered in a separate box so the form can be scanned by HMRC. HMRC will not accept photocopies of forms.

2.  Claim using the Charities Online service.

WIs must first sign up to use HMRC Online Services and enrol for the Charities Online service. They can then complete an online form and attach a Gift Aid schedule spreadsheet listing details of individual donors. The form will be automatically submitted to HMRC with no need to print or sign it. The Gift Aid schedule spreadsheet can be downloaded from HMRC’s website.

Claims have to give the following details:

Donor initials or first name, surname, house name/number, postcode, donation date and value.

Gift Aid claims can be made at any time whether online or on paper.

Benefits to members

Before completing a Gift Aid claim, the WI should assess the value of any benefits to members using the guidelines below.

1.  If the WI charges visitors to attend meetings, the maximum charge paid by any single individual during the year counts as a benefit to all members. If this is greater than 25% of the subscription then no Gift Aid claim can be made for any member. (Note that if visitors make a voluntary donation this does not count as a benefit.

2.  The WI should also ask all members who have completed a Gift Aid declaration to provide information in writing about any other benefits received by virtue of being a member during the period of the claim. The main benefits will be members’ discounts that the member has received that were not available to non-members, including attendances at Denman College or Federation events. The total benefit received by any member is the value of all discounts received; i.e. the difference between the amount the member paid and the amount a non-member would pay.

If the total of 1 and 2 above is more than 25% of the subscription for an individual member then that member must not be included in the Gift Aid claim for that period.

Record keeping

The WI must keep records to show how much has been received from each member in a Gift Aid claim including her name and address, the amount of each donation , when the donation was made and the member’s Gift Aid declaration from. The WI must also keep a record of any declarations that are cancelled by members.

It must also keep sufficient records to show that its Gift Aid claims are accurate and that all the conditions of Gift Aid are met, e.g. that the value of any benefits is within the required limits. Records will include evidence of the receipt of subscriptions from individual members, copies of the members’ Gift Aid declarations and statements about benefits received, full records of the calculation of any benefits.

Records must be kept for at least six years after the accounting year to which a claim relates. If the WI does not keep adequate records HMRC may require any tax reclaimed to be paid back.

HMRC Charities contact details

HMRC Charities Helpline: 0845 302 0203 (8.00 am to 5.00 pm, Monday to Friday).

HM Revenue & Customs, Charities Correspondence, SO708, PO Box 205, Bootle L699 9AZ

February 2014