In 2021 you may have heard that the upper limit has been increased to £7500 which means even more help to support good causes with the lower limit from £500.

For 2021 it still is from £500 and is up to £7500 and here are the details – https://www.gov.gg/article/151830/Income-tax-relief

Steve Byrne GSPCA Manager said “As an animal welfare charity every penny donated to the GSPCA makes a difference to animals in Guernsey.”

“We are so grateful to every donation made to the GSPCA no matter the size but for those that could afford and were kind enough to donate between £500 and £5,000 to ourselves in or any Guernsey registered charity up to 2020 then there is a way to increase this through gift aid and even better in this year 2021 the upper limit has been increased to £7,500.”

“With hundreds of animals in our care and around the clock work buy claiming the gift aid by filling in a simple form you could help us or other charities even more than you already have.”

“A huge thanks to all that support our work in any way, shape or for we really do appreciate it so much.”

 

The history

In September 2009 the States of Guernsey agreed to change the way in which tax relief was given in respect of donations to Guernsey Registered Charities (GRC).

Previously income tax relief was only available to individuals who made payments under an irrevocable Deed of Covenant in favour of a Guernsey Registered Charity for a period in excess of 3 years; no relief was available to Guernsey resident individuals in respect of noncovenanted donations to Guernsey charities.

In summary, the system up to 2020 worked as follows:

As from the 1st January, 2010, if an individual (i.e. not a company) makes a donation or donations to a particular Guernsey Registered Charity, of at least £500 and not exceeding £5,000 in a calendar year, the donation is deemed to have been made to the charity net of income tax.

If the individual is able to complete a declaration in the form and manner required by the Director of Income Tax, the donation is grossed up and a repayment of the income tax is made to the charity.

For example, if the individual makes a donation to a Guernsey Registered Charity of £1,000 and completes the appropriate declaration, the charity is treated as having received the sum of £1,000 net of tax which gives the equivalent gross donation of £1,250 (i.e. £1,000 X 100/80).

The charity would then claim a repayment from the Director of Income Tax in the sum of £250 (i.e. £1,250 – £1,000). It is important to note that relief is only available in respect of donations made by an individual out of income taxed in Guernsey to Guernsey charities which have registered in accordance with the Charities and Non Profit Organisations (Registration) (Guernsey) Law, 2008. Donations to non GRC do not qualify for relief under the provisions of Sections 64A – 64F of the Law.

So if you made a donation or donations of between £500 and £5000 as an individual to a Guernsey Registered Charity such as the GSPCA in 2012 then this may apply to you.

For the States of Guernsey tax relief information on donations up to 2020 on donations totalling between £500 and £5000 here is the details https://www.gov.gg/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=2617&p=0

To download the form to claim for 2020 please follow this link https://www.gov.gg/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=1994&p=0