Gift Aid

What is Gift Aid?

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. 

Who is eligible?

To be eligible to sign up for Gift Aid 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 not only cover your future donations but also donations you have made for the past 4 years. To make your declaration, you can either:

• call our Supporter Care Team on 0300 300 9990
• complete it through our online donation form
• download the RNLI Gift Aid donation form (PDF 574KB), complete it and send it back to: Gift Aid, RNLI, FREEPOST, BH173, West Quay Road, Poole, BH15 1HZ.

Please remember to inform us if you have changed your name and address, or no longer pay sufficient tax on your income and/or capital gains tax, either by completing our online enquiry form or calling us on 0300 300 9990. Our Supporter Care Team is available Monday-Friday, 8am-6pm, and will be happy to answer any of your queries or provide assistance.