The Church of England position relating to the donations we can claim under the GASDS scheme changed in 2015 and again in 2017.
Initially, HMRC considered parishes within a diocese to be 'connected' for the purposes of the scheme, which meant that parishes could only claim using the Community Buildings element of the scheme. This has since changed, and parishes can claim on the main 'top-up charity element of the scheme.
There are two options, depending on whether the parish is a single church or mult-church parish:
1 - Single church parishes should claim on the
main top-up element of the scheme, up to £8000 per parish. You can include small cash donations:
-
in loose offerings
-
regular non Gift Aid envelopes
-
in wall safes
-
received outside the building e.g. home communions
Exclude donations for things like tea / coffee, votive candles, flower festival, i.e. anything with a 'benefit'. See the national
Guide to GASDS for parishes with single church for more details.
2 - Multi-church parishes should continue to claim on the
Community Buildings element, up to £8000 for each
separate church building. You can include small cash donations:
-
in loose offerings
-
regular non Gift Aid envelopes
-
in wall safes
-
received outside the building but made within the Local Authority area of the building, e.g. home communions
The same exclusions as above also apply.
For a building to be eligible to count as a "community building", charitable activities (services) should take place with at least 10 people (beneficiaries) present on at least 6 occasions in the year.
See the national
Guide to GASDS for parishes with multiple churches for more details.
What else changed from 6 April 2017?
-
Eligibility requirements: This included removing the requirement where you have to have made a Gift Aid claim in at least two of the last four tax years. This has affected some churches who don’t make regular annual Gift Aid claims.
-
Contactless payments: These can now be included!
More guidance:
See the checklist on the right to compare what donations you can claim depending on whether you claim on the Top-Up or Community Buildings element of the scheme.
The Resources team offer regular briefing sessions on the GASDS scheme.