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Gift Aid

Boost your donation by 25p for every £1 you donate - it won’t cost you a penny extra. 

What does ‘Gift Aid donation’ mean?

Gift Aid is a scheme from HM Revenue & Customs that allows us to reclaim an extra 25% on your donations made during the past 4 years, as well as on all future donations, without costing you a penny. This means that for every £1 you donate to the RNLI, the charity gets an extra 25p.

It may not sound like a lot, but in 2022 alone, the RNLI reclaimed around £6.6 million on donations from kind people who ticked the Gift Aid box. That’s enough to train and equip more than 1300 lifeboat crew members.

Infographic: What happens when you say yes to Gift Aid

Who is eligible?

To be eligible for claiming Gift Aid on charity donations, you must be a UK taxpayer and pay an amount of income and/or capital gains tax - at least equal to the tax that all charities and Community Amateur Sports Clubs will reclaim in the tax year of your donation. This also applies if you pay tax on your savings, pension plan or investment income but taxes such as VAT and Council Tax do not qualify. If you pay less Income Tax and/or Capital Gains Tax than the amount of Gift Aid claimed on your donations in the tax year, you’ll be responsible for paying any difference.

Are you a higher rate taxpayer?

There is an extra benefit for higher rate taxpayers as you are able to reclaim tax on the amount you have donated. We, as a charity, can claim the basic rate of tax on the value of your gift, and you can reclaim the difference between higher rate (40%) and basic rate tax (20%).

For example, if you give £100 to the RNLI, we can reclaim Gift Aid of £25 making your total gross donation £125. Being a higher rate taxpayer, you can reclaim a further 20% on the gross donation (the difference between the two tax bands), which in this example, is £25. This means your £125 gift to the RNLI would have only cost you £75.

How can I Gift Aid?

All we need from you is a single Gift Aid declaration, which will cover your future donations and also donations you have made for the past 4 years. To make your declaration, you can either:

Please remember to inform us if you wish to cancel the declaration, change your name or home address, or no longer pay sufficient tax on your income and/or capital gains tax. You can either complete our online enquiry form or call us on 0300 300 9990. 

During March and April 2024, Ethicall, an RNLI Partner, will be carrying out some administrative Gift Aid telephone calls. 0117 463 3294 is the Ethicall outbound call number.

Frequently asked Gift Aid questions (FAQs)

Find answers to the most frequently asked questions about Gift Aid.

If you have a question that isn't included in our FAQs, please contact us - we'll be delighted to help.

Gift Aid is a government scheme available to charities such as the RNLI. It allows us to reclaim the basic rate tax you pay as a UK taxpayer.

It means that we can claim 25p of tax for every £1 you donate, at no extra cost to you. If you donate £10 to the RNLI, we can claim £2.50 from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), which means your donation is worth even more at £12.50. All you need to do is complete a Gift Aid declaration. 

No, HMRC only require a tick-box declaration along with your full name and address.

No. Once you’ve completed and returned your form, you won’t have to do it again for the RNLI. You should, however, let us know if your tax status changes by calling Supporter Experience on 0300 300 9990.

Yes, you can still donate to the RNLI without completing a Gift Aid declaration.

No, as a supporter you will not receive anything additional.

You can directly support as many UK charities as you wish using the Gift Aid scheme so long as:

  • You complete a Gift Aid declaration form for each charity that claims Gift Aid on your donations.
  • The total Gift Aid reclaimed by all the charities that you support does not exceed the total tax that you have paid in the applicable tax year.

Yes, you can cancel your declaration at any time.

If you wish to cancel the declaration, change your name or home address, or no longer pay sufficient tax on your income and/or capital gains tax, please let us know. You can either complete our online enquiry form or contact our Supporter Experience Team on 0300 300 9990.

You may still be paying tax on a private pension plan or a savings account, or pay capital gains tax if you sell either a property or shares. If so you  are still eligible to Gift Aid  providing you have paid enough tax during the year to cover your donations (25% of the value of your gifts).

If you’re unsure, we advise that you check with your tax office and pension provider before completing a declaration.

If you only receive the basic State Pension, then you will not pay any Income Tax and will not be able to Gift Aid your donations.

You can cancel the declaration at any time by emailing your full name, address and Supporter Number if you know it, to [email protected]. Alternatively, you can speak to a member of our Supporter Experience team on 0300 300 9990, between 8am and 6pm, Monday–Friday.

No, but you may wish to keep a record of donations you make to charity in each tax year. This will help ensure that you continue to pay enough tax to cover the payments you make under Gift Aid.

Look at papers relating to money paid to you. Savings/bank account statements will normally show if tax has been deducted  together with the amount.

As a pensioner, you will receive a P60 form each year. Keep this safe, as it will show any tax deductions.

Nothing. It just ensures that if you choose to donate to RNLI, we can claim an extra 25% back from the government.

No, Gift Aid is taken from tax you have already paid so there is no charge to you. It does not affect your tax status either.

Charities cannot claim gift aid on any donations:

  • from a non-UK taxpayer
  • from residents of the Channel Island or Isle of Man
  • made on behalf of someone else or a group of people
  • made on behalf of a company
  • to a family member or friend participating in an event where the charity is contributing to their costs
  • made in return for goods, rights, or services
  • money raised from collections (such as funeral collections)
  • money raised from a sale of goods such as in a cake sale, car wash or through the sale of raffle tickets.

Gift Aid is tax relief based on your personal taxed income. If you donate on behalf of either a company or another person, this is not from your personal taxed income; and charities are not eligible to claim Gift Aid on these donations.
An orange lifeboat speeds across a black, rough sea.

Boost your donation

In 2021, the RNLI reclaimed around £6.2 million on donations from supporters opted into Gift Aid - that's enough to train and equip around 1300 lifesavers.