Charity appeals

Whenever there is a natural disaster, reaching for the phone and pledging a donation is automatic for many people. Arrangements are made to transfer funds to the appeal charity, and within minutes the donation is made. Likewise with the many appeals for 'just' £3 a week: we are often happy to make arrangements to donate a modest regular amount to any number of charities.

You will almost certainly have been asked to make your gift under the Gift Aid rules and if you are a higher rate taxpayer you are entitled to tax relief.

For example, if you are a 40% taxpayer and donate £1,200 to charities over the year, you are entitled to nearly £277 of tax relief. And if that results in a tax refund, we can even tick a box on your Tax Return and have the refund made over to the charity of your choice - and that gift will also qualify for Gift Aid tax relief!

Donations can be made regularly - by direct debit, for example - or a one-off. They do not even need to be made in cash - talk to us about gifts from business and gifts of non-cash assets.

Record keeping has become vital under self assessment. We need to be able to prove every figure on your Tax Return and you should keep personal financial records relating to your Tax Return for at least six years. Your entitlement to Gift Aid tax relief might provide an incentive.