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How Gift Aid Helps the Parish<\/h3><\/div>\n
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Beragh Parish and Gift Aid<\/span><\/p>

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Gift Aid is the government\'s scheme that enables charities and donors to reclaim\ntax on charitable giving. The Parish of Beragh is a registered charity so we\nare able to claim tax back from HM Revenue & Customs.<\/span><\/p>

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So what\ndoes it mean?<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n\n

Gift\naid works by allowing charities to reclaim tax on the \'gross\' equivalent of the\ndonation (i.e. it\'s value before tax was deducted) at the basic rate, which is currently\n20%. To put £1 into the collection, you will have earned £1.25 and paid 25p (this\nis 20% of £1.25) in tax before you had it to spend, or donate<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n\n

In practice,\nthis means that every £1 you donate using Gift Aid, the Church can claim an additional\n25p from HMRC, and so get £1.25 from your donation without it costing you any more\nthan £1.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>


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How does\nit work?<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n\n

You make\na \'Gift Aid declaration\' to the Church, in writing, and the Church can then reclaim\nthe tax you have paid. There has to be a record of what you give, so we ask you\nto use the Gift Aid envelopes for cash & cheques, or give by direct debit. The\ndeclaration will cover everything you give.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>


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What\ndoes it cost me?<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n\n

It costs\nyou absolutely nothing! You are giving to the Church anyway, this simply asks the\nGovernment to redirect to the Church some of the tax you have paid to them.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>


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What\nif you pay the tax at the higher rate?<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n\n

If you\npay tax at the higher rate, you can inform HMRC - on your tax return, usually -\nand they will pay you the difference between the higher rate tax and that which\nthe Parish has reclaimed. The idea is that you can then pass this over to the Parish,\nbut that is entirely up to your conscience.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n\n

The Parish\nwill not know whether or how much has been refunded and HMRC will not know what\nyou do with it. If you are a higher rate tax payer, contact your tax advisor or\nHMRC.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>


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What\nhappens if I stop paying enough tax?<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n\n

Simply\nask the Parish office to cancel your declaration. If you don\'t, then you could be\nsent a bill by the Inland Revenue for any tax claimed by the Church that you have\nnot paid. If in future you start paying sufficient tax again, you can make a new\ndeclaration.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

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