Gift Aid

Regular and one-off donations

When you donate by Direct Debit, standing order, through our website or by text, we'll ask if you want to add Gift Aid.

If you did not add Gift Aid at the point of donation, you can complete a Gift Aid declaration. This gives Shelter Scotland authority to reclaim tax on your gift to us.

You only need to complete the declaration once, as it covers:

• all personal donations made in the last four tax years

• any future donations (although there is no obligation to give again)

If you only want us to claim Gift Aid on a specific donation, please email info@shelter.org.uk or call 0300 330 1234.

Donating items to our charity shops

If you donate items to Shelter Scotland charity shops, we can claim Gift Aid on the money raised from the sales. To sign up for Gift Aid, ask in the shop or complete a Retail Gift Aid form.

Event sponsorship

Fundraising platforms like JustGiving usually give your sponsors the option to add Gift Aid to their online donations.

For offline donations, please email events@shelter.org.uk or call 0344 515 1190 and we can provide sponsorship forms. Sponsors can record their details on the forms, which allows us to claim Gift Aid on their donations.

Collections

To request payment envelopes for a Shelter Scotland collection, such as an office fancy dress day, please email events@shelter.org.uk or call 0300 330 1234. Donors can record their details on the envelopes, which enables us to claim Gift Aid on their donations.

Unfortunately, we cannot claim Gift Aid on donations exchanged for goods, such as money raised from a bake sale.

In memory giving

If you're collecting in memory of someone, visit our in memory giving page. We're here to support you with your collection and can provide materials such as payment envelopes.

Donors can record their details on the envelopes, which allows us to claim Gift Aid on their donations. Please note that we cannot claim Gift Aid on donations made by a group of people.

To discuss your collection or ask any questions, please email inmemory@shelter.org.uk or call 0344 515 1617.

Donations made by UK taxpayers are usually eligible. You're a UK taxpayer if you:

• pay income tax on your wage or pension before you receive them

• pay capital gains tax, for example on the sale of a property, shares or taxable savings

Most personal donations, whether regular or one-off, are eligible for Gift Aid. This includes Direct Debits, standing orders, cheques, cash and text giving.

In Scotland, if you pay the starter rate of tax, your donations are still eligible for Gift Aid.

You can support as many UK charities as you like through Gift Aid, as long as you pay enough tax during the year to cover your total annual Gift Aid. You will need to complete a separate declaration for each charity.

Some types of donation are not eligible for Gift Aid. These include:

• Charities Aid Foundation account or similar agency donations

• payroll giving donations

• most company donations

• trust donations

If you need a receipt for donations made by Direct Debit, standing order, through our website or by text message, please email info@shelter.org.uk or call 0300 330 1234.

If you donate items to Shelter Scotland charity shops, we send end of tax year statements between 6 April and 31 May. If you have not received one, please email retailgiftaid@shelter.org.uk or call 0344 515 1445.

When you donate to Shelter Scotland, adding Gift Aid increases your impact in the fight for housing justice. As a higher rate taxpayer, you may be able to reclaim tax on your charitable donations – so it's a win for you too.

Visit the UK government's Gift Aid page for more information on tax relief when you donate to a charity.

You may wish to make a joint donation with your spouse, civil partner or someone else you live with. Please email info@shelter.org.uk or call 0300 330 1234 and we'll send you a joint declaration form.

If you're both UK taxpayers, we can claim Gift Aid on the full amount. If not, we can only claim Gift Aid on the share of the donation made by the UK taxpayer.

If you're in receipt of a pension, you could still be a UK taxpayer and eligible for Gift Aid. For example, you may be paying UK tax on:

• private pensions

• savings accounts (income tax)

• profits from selling a property or shares (capital gains tax)

If you're no longer a UK taxpayer, please cancel your Gift Aid as soon as possible.

Please contact us as soon as possible if you:

• want to cancel your Gift Aid declaration at any time

• have moved address or changed your name

• are no longer a UK taxpayer or will not pay enough tax to cover the Gift Aid claimed on your donations in future

• only want us to claim Gift Aid on a specific donation

• know someone who has died and we need to stop claiming Gift Aid against their name

For donations to Shelter Scotland charity shops, please email retailgiftaid@shelter.org.uk or call 0344 515 1445.

For all other types of donation, please email info@shelter.org.uk or call 0300 330 1234.