Gift Aid FAQs

You’ll need to complete a Gift Aid declaration. All that is required for this is your full name, contact details, address and confirmation that you are a UK taxpayer. When you make a donation online or by phone you’ll be asked if you want to Gift Aid your donation. If you’ve forgotten to Gift Aid your donation or you’ve sent it to us by post you can still sign up to Gift Aid by completing our online form here.

You’ll qualify for Gift Aid if you meet the following criteria:

• You are a UK taxpayer
• You pay enough tax*

*You pay Income Tax and / or Capital Gains Tax equal to the amount of Gift Aid claimed on your donations in that tax year, otherwise it is your responsibility to pay the difference.

Even if you’re not employed you are still eligible if you’re paying tax on the following:

• Personal or occupational pension
• Stocks and shares
• Bank and building society saving accounts
• Rental income
• Overseas and UK investments dividends

NB: Council Tax and VAT will not qualify as income tax.

Yes, provided your individual donation or sponsorship is a gift and you’re a UK taxpayer. However please note certain donations are not eligible for Gift Aid. According to HMRC if your donation falls into any of the following categories Gift Aid should not be claimed:

• Donations made on behalf of someone or a group of people e.g. if you collect money from family, friends or colleagues and make a bulk donation. Even if everyone is a UK taxpayer the donation is not eligible, as to qualify for Gift Aid everyone must submit their own Gift Aid declaration
• Donations made in receipt of something e.g. a raffle ticket
• Donations made on behalf of a company. Gift Aid can only be claimed against an individual’s tax status, not a company’s

No, as long as you are a UK taxpayer and you have paid enough basic rate income tax to cover the amount of Gift Aid we can claim, adding Gift Aid to your donation won’t cost you a penny extra. Please be advised that if you have paid insufficient tax to meet the Gift Aid claimed by the charity, HMRC may seek to recover this sum from you directly, as it is your responsibility to pay the difference.

If you pay tax at a 40% or higher rate you can claim the difference between the higher and basic rate on your donation. To do this you’ll need to:

• Include your Gift Aid donations on your Self Assessment Tax Return
• Ask HMRC to adjust your tax code

Please email supporterservices@acorns.org.uk to let us know if your taxpayer status has changed or if you wish to cancel your declaration.

If you’ve changed your name or moved house you can update your contact information and preferences here. Alternatively you can email our Supporter Services team at supporterservices@acorns.org.uk.

Yes, you can declare Gift Aid for more than one charity. However you must pay an amount of Income Tax and/or Capital Gains Tax which is at least equal to the combined amount of Gift Aid that the charities are claiming.

If your Income Tax and / or Capital Gains Tax is not equal to the amount of Gift Aid claimed on your donations in that tax year, it is your responsibility to pay the difference.

No, when you complete a Gift Aid declaration we can claim Gift Aid on your donations made in the last 4 years, the present and in the future. So only one declaration is needed.

Don’t forget to let us know though if your taxpayer status, name or address details have changed by emailing supporterservices@acorns.org.uk or filling out our online form here.

If you pay tax on a private pension plan or savings account or Capital Gains Tax on the sale of property or shares then you are still eligible to sign up to Gift Aid.

When you drop off your donated items at your local Acorns shop you’ll be asked if you want to Gift Aid them. To sign up to Gift Aid, you’ll just need to complete a quick and easy Gift Aid form and you’ll receive a unique Gift Aid Donor ID. When you next donate items you’ll just need to let us know your Gift Aid Donor ID.

Find your nearest Acorns shop here.

When you Gift Aid your donated items we’ll create an account in our till system which lets us match your items to your Gift Aid Donor ID. Every item you donate is labelled with a reference number which is scanned when they get sold. Every item sold is then worth 25% more without costing you a penny.

No, as long as you are a UK taxpayer and you have paid enough basic rate income tax to cover the amount of Gift Aid we can claim, adding Gift Aid to your donated items won’t cost you a penny extra.

Please be advised that if you have paid insufficient tax to meet the Gift Aid claimed by the charity, HMRC may seek to recover this sum from you directly, as it is your responsibility to pay the difference.

If your total donations are £20 or more, we will make sure that your receive an annual statement by 31st May each year following the end of the tax year on 5th April. If your total donations are less than £20 we will write to you at the end of the tax year when your total donations reach £20 or every three years, whichever comes first.

If you want to help us save money on print and postage whist being kind to the environment please swap to email updates. To update your contact information and preferences please click here to fill out our short form or email our Supporter Services team at supporterservices@acorns.org.uk.

For this money to go towards providing vital hospice care for local children and families at Acorns, there is nothing further that you need to do.

We appreciate however that your status as a taxpayer making Gift Aid donations can change from one tax year to the next. You will need to get in touch with us within 21 days if your taxpayer status has changed, your personal details (such as name and address) have changed or if you wish to cancel your Gift Aid declaration.

Please be advised that if you have paid insufficient tax to meet the Gift Aid claimed by the charity, HMRC may seek to recover this sum from you directly, as it is your responsibility to pay the difference.

Please email giftaid@acorns.org.uk to let us know if your taxpayer status has changed or you wish to cancel your declaration or taxpayer status. If you’ve changed your name or moved house you can update your contact information and preferences here or email our Supporter Services team at supporterservices@acorns.org.uk.

The Gift Aid raised from your donated items may not have met your expectation in terms of amount for a number of reasons. This may include the length of time your goods take to sell (some seasonal items may be held back and sold at different times in the year). You may see an uplift of amount in the following year’s statement. If you have any further queries, please email giftaid@acorns.org.uk.

Yes, if your total donations are over £20 we must contact you at the end of the tax year, as this is part of the HMRC requirements to allow us to operate the Gift Aid scheme.

If your total donations are below £20 you will only be notified at the end of the tax year when your total donations reach £20, or every three years, whichever happens first.

If you’re currently receiving your statement by post you can help us save print and postage costs by switching to receive it by email instead. To update your contact information and preferences please click here or email our Supporter Services team at supporterservices@acorns.org.uk.

Yes of course! You’ll be helping us save money on print and postage whilst being kind to the environment.

To update your contact information and preferences please click here or email our Supporter Services team at supporterservices@acorns.org.uk.

Please email giftaid@acorns.org.uk to let us know if your taxpayer status has changed or you wish to cancel your declaration. If you’ve changed your name or moved house you can update your contact information and preferences here  or email our Supporter Services team at supporterservices@acorns.org.uk.

You’ll need to email giftaid@acorns.org.uk within 21 days of receiving your annual statement. Please note that in this instance we reserve the right to terminate our agreement with you.

The Gift Aid scheme was set up to help charities like Acorns Children’s Hospice raise an additional 25% from the sales value of your goods. We do this by acting as your agent in selling your goods, but when you claim the sales value of those goods back from us, we can no longer claim the Gift Aid.

You are welcome to continue to donate stock, but we will accept your donations outside of the agreement we have with you, meaning you will no longer be in a position to claim the sales value of such donations back from us in the future.

Yes, spouses may share Gift Aid claims. If your taxpayer status has changed and you would like your spouse to claim it instead please email giftaid@acorns.org.uk to update your records.

Whilst the principle is the same, there are additional agency terms and conditions for Retail Gift Aid so they are operated separately. If you’ve previously added Gift Aid to a donation or sponsorship, you will need to sign up for Retail Gift Aid in order to allow Acorns to claim Gift Aid on your donated items.