Every gift you make to Maggie's could be worth more, at no extra cost to you, just by choosing to Gift Aid it.
- What is Gift Aid?
- What is a Gift Aid repair letter?
- Why are you sending out Gift Aid letters?
- Why have I received a Gift Aid letter?
- Are you contacting me because I made a mistake on my Gift Aid declaration?
- I've received your Gift Aid repair letter. What do I have to do?
- Will this affect my ongoing donations?
- What happens if I don't reply to you?
- I have opted out of mailings from you. Why have you contacted me?
- I have already informed you that I am no longer eligible for Gift Aid. Why are you contacting me?
- I never completed a Gift Aid declaration. Why are you contacting me?
- I am no longer eligible to Gift Aid my donations. What should I do?
1. What is Gift Aid?
Gift Aid is a government scheme that allows charities to reclaim the tax that you have already paid on your donations through UK income tax or capital gains tax.
To be eligible to join the Scheme you need to be a UK tax payer who has paid enough tax to cover your donations to all your favourite charities.
2. What is a Gift Aid repair letter?
We can only claim Gift Aid if we have a valid Gift Aid declaration made by the donor.
If we find a declaration is invalid or missing, in some instances His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) allow us to write to donors to remedy this so we can continue to claim Gift Aid.
The repair letter is a Gift Aid Statement which confirms the original agreement to Gift Aid donations to Maggie’s, if we cannot repair the declaration, we will have to stop claiming Gift Aid and possibly repay HMRC any Gift Aid we have claimed under that declaration.
By sending out the letter It’s also an opportunity to make sure all the details we hold for you are still valid. Donors only need to contact us if their details have changed.
3. Why are you sending out Gift Aid repair letters?
Following a recent review of our Gift Aid Declarations we have discovered that some of the declarations we hold are invalid or even missing.
In most cases this is because we may not be able to retrieve the declaration from our files. By sending out the repair letters (Gift Aid Statement) we give donors an opportunity to review their agreement to Gift Aid and advise us of any changes to their details. Donors only need to contact us if their details have changed.
If we don’t hear from a donor within 30 days of the date of the letter, under HMRC rules we can consider the declaration to now be repaired and we can continue to claim Gift Aid under that declaration.
4. Why have I received a Gift Aid repair letter?
We are contacting everyone who according to our records completed a Gift Aid declaration that we have subsequently discovered to be either invalid or missing. In most cases this is because we can’t retrieve a declaration for you. Your letter will explain the problem with your declaration.
5. Are you contacting me because I made a mistake on my Gift Aid declaration?
No. Although occasionally we do receive a Gift Aid declaration in error, we always contact the donor at the time.
The Gift Aid Scheme for charities has been running for 24 years, and over time some declarations are now missing or require us to confirm your details with you.
HMRC Gift Aid rules expect all charities to keep a valid copy of Gift Aid declarations for donors to confirm eligibility to add Gift Aid.
6. I’ve received your Gift Aid repair letter. What do I have to do?
The letter confirms the details we have for your Gift Aid declaration including the date you started adding Gift Aid. It also confirms you are a UK taxpayer and have been while making your donations to us. We have also taken the opportunity to confirm you want to continue adding Gift Aid, and asks you to check your personal details are still correct.
If the answer to all of these questions is ‘Yes’ then you do not need to contact us.
If the answer to any of these questions is ‘No’ then please get in touch with us within 30 days of the date of the letter at enquiries@maggies.org, or call us on 0300 123 1801.
You can also write to us at Maggie’s, The Gatehouse, 10 Dumbarton Road, Glasgow G11 6PA.
7. Will this affect my ongoing donations?
No. This only affects the Gift Aid we claim on those donations.
8. What happens if I don’t reply to you?
We ask you to let us know within 30 days of the date of the letter if there are any changes we need to make to the way we claim Gift Aid on your donations.
If we don’t hear from you, we will take this as your authority we can continue to claim Gift Aid.
9. I have opted out of mailings from you. Why have you contacted me?
Under General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) rules, we are permitted to contact you about your Gift Aid declaration because we have a legitimate interest in ensuring we are following HMRC rules with regard to claiming Gift Aid.
We have completed a legitimate interest assessment with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for this mailing.
Please be assured that we will continue to respect your wishes and we will not send you any non Gift Aid post communications.
10. I have already informed you that I am no longer eligible for Gift Aid. Why are you contacting me?
Under HMRC rules we have a duty of responsibility to make sure past donations were also valid for Gift Aid, otherwise we are liable to repay HMRC.
The liability period is the current tax year plus the previous four tax years. This means that if any of your donations were made on or after the charity’s financial period 1 January 2020 to date and on which we have claimed Gift Aid, we need to ensure that we had a valid declaration covering those donations. This is not a request to start Gift Aid again.
If you have any questions on this please contact us at enquiries@maggies.org, or call us on 0300 1231801.
You can also write to us at Maggie’s, The Gatehouse, 10 Dumbarton Road, Glasgow G11 6PA.
11. I completed a Gift Aid declaration before, why are you asking to reconfirm my tax status?
If you are a UK tax payer and eligible for Gift Aid, we can claim an extra 25% from HMRC to make your donation go even further.
The liability period is the current tax year plus the previous four tax years.
This means that if any of your donations were made on or after the charity’s financial period 1 January 2020 to date and on which we have claimed Gift Aid, we need to ensure that we had a valid declaration covering those donations or repay HMRC for any gift aid claimed.
If you have any questions on this please contact us at enquiries@maggies.org, or call us on 0300 1231801.
You can also write to us at Maggie’s, The Gatehouse, 10 Dumbarton Road, Glasgow G11 6PA.
12. I am no longer eligible to Gift Aid my donations. What should I do?
Please don't worry just contact us at enquiries@maggies.org, or call us on 0300 123 1801.
You can also write to us at Maggie’s, The Gatehouse, 10 Dumbarton Road, Glasgow G11 6PA.
Get in touch
If you can’t find the answer you need in these FAQs please contact us at enquiries@maggies.org, or call us on 0300 123 1801.
You can also write to us at Maggie’s, The Gatehouse, 10 Dumbarton Road, Glasgow G11 6PA.
Last review: Aug 2024 | Next review: Aug 2025