Charity Shops Made Simple

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Charity Shops Made Simple Charity shops made simple Ross Palmer September 2016 Charity shops made simple| September 2016 Charity shops made simple Ross Palmer September 2016 Agenda 1. Charity shops introduction 2. Gift Aid basics 3. Retail Gift Aid Scheme 4. VAT aspects 5. Income / Corporation Tax aspects 6. Business Rate relief 7. Summary 2 1 Charity shops made simple| September 2016 1. Charity shops introduction Basic charity shop operation can be very tax efficient for a charity: • VAT: sales of donated goods are zero-rated • Income / Corporation tax: profits are exempt • Business rates: 80% mandatory relief and 20% discretionary relief • Problem is no Gift Aid to be claimed as Gift Aid is only applicable to monetary gifts, not gifts of goods 3 1. Charity shops introduction • If the donor first sold their goods and then donated the proceeds, then Gift Aid could potentially be claimed on the proceeds • The Retail Gift Aid Scheme (‘RGAS’) is an HMRC approved way of doing this • Charity or trading sub sells the donor’s goods as agent of the donor • Donor then Gift Aids the proceeds to the charity 4 2 Charity shops made simple| September 2016 2. Gift Aid - how it works £125 £25 gross basic rate pay tax (20%) £25 At a 20% basic rate of tax, the basic rate Gift Aid is 25% of tax £100 the gift value net pay £100 Charity gift + Gift Aid declaration 5 2. Higher rate relief • Extra tax relief for higher rate taxpayers • For £100 donation Equivalent to £125 gross donation 40% taxpayer paid £50 tax on the donation (£125 x 40%) Charity gets 20% back – i.e. £25 Donor gets tax relief of £25 Cost of donation to donor was £100 - £25 = £75 6 3 Charity shops made simple| September 2016 2. Tax to cover • In any tax year (6 April – 5 April next) • The donor must have paid enough UK Income Tax plus UK Capital Gains Tax • To cover all Gift Aid claimed • On all the donor’s Gift Aid donations • To all charities or CASCs • Made in the tax year 7 2. Tax to cover • If HMRC establish the donor has not paid enough tax • HMRC may ask the charity to voluntarily refund Gift Aid to HMRC • But no obligation on the charity to do so (unless charity is complicit in tax avoidance) • Otherwise HMRC will charge the donor 8 4 Charity shops made simple| September 2016 2. Written Gift Aid declaration • Name of charity • Name and home address of donor (inc. UK postcode if in UK) • Identifies gifts to be Gift Aided (e.g. the enclosed gift and all future gifts) • Request to treat as Gift Aided (e.g. please Gift Aid …) • Date, if open ended declaration • Tax to cover statement 9 3. Retail Gift Aid Scheme • Cannot Gift Aid a donation of goods as not a monetary donation • Solution is to: • Sell the goods as agent of the donor • The sales proceeds less any selling commission belongs to the donor • The donor agrees to Gift Aid the net proceeds to the charity 10 5 Charity shops made simple| September 2016 3. RGAS: agency sales Selling as agent of the donor means: • The donor legally sells the goods to the end customer • The donor must have the right to retain the proceeds if they wish • The charity must (in principle) notify the donor when a sale is made and give them the opportunity to retain the proceeds 11 3. RGAS standard method Before 6 April 2013 this was the only way HMRC accepted for operating RGAS: • Donor notified of net proceeds periodically in writing • Donor is given 21 days to claim net proceeds • If not claimed, can assume net proceeds donated to charity under Gift Aid • This approach is now know as the ‘standard method’ 12 6 Charity shops made simple| September 2016 3. RGAS standard method From 6 April 2013: • Must notify donor using HMRC template wording • Must be a written agency agreement • Can be an agreement the donor signs or a leaflet to which the donor gives verbal consent • Can also include a Gift Aid declaration in the written agreement • Shop staff must explain key points of the agreement to the donor 13 3. RGAS methods A and B From 6 April 2013, two other options besides standard method – methods A and B. Idea is: • Donor agrees they do not need to be notified until annual net sales proceeds go above a set amount • Once gone above the set amount, must notify donor using HMRC template letters • Donor must be notified using the correct HMRC template letter for method A or B • Donor must be sent an end of year summary (to 5 April) by 31 May each year – HMRC templates also 14 7 Charity shops made simple| September 2016 3. RGAS methods A and B Method A: For use where shop operated by charity • Set amount must be at most £100 Method B: for use where shop operated by a trading subsidiary • Set amount must be at most £1,000 15 3. RGAS methods A and B • Set amounts work by tax year (6 April – 5 April next) • e.g. charity operated shop with set amount = £100 • Donor 1’s net sales in tax year = £80, no need to notify donor of sales until end of year statement • Donor 2’s net sales in tax year = £120, must notify donor of first sale that takes total net proceeds over £100 and thereafter, and send an end of year statement (but can combine these) • Must send end of year summary by 31 May 16 8 Charity shops made simple| September 2016 3. Retail Gift Aid Scheme • Donor letters must follow HMRC templates. Download from gov.uk website. Five templates: • Standard method: notify any sales • Method A notify sales above £100 • Method B notify sales above £1,000 • Method A end of year letter • Method B end of year letter • Last updated by HMRC in April 2016 – use up to date versions 17 3. Moving to methods A and B • Can write to existing scheme members saying will be transferred to A or B • Explain new method • Give them 30 days to notify if do not wish to be transferred • Or can ask members individually if they would agree to transfer when they drop in goods 18 9 Charity shops made simple| September 2016 3. Methods A and B – tax to cover • HMRC used to say that if donor hadn’t paid enough tax, the charity must repay the tax for the donor (i.e. repay the gift aid claimed) • But HMRC has now dropped this (from October 2015) • HMRC will ask the charity to voluntarily repay Gift Aid • But if the charity says no, HMRC will pursue the donor • Unless charity and donor complicit in tax avoidance, when HMRC can pursue the charity also 19 3. RGAS incentive schemes HMRC will not accept Gift Aid claims if inappropriate incentive or bonus schemes are operated, for example: • using targets for Gift Aid take up • publishing league tables of shops • giving bonuses, incentives, or otherwise rewarding increased Gift Aid claims from individual shops 20 10 Charity shops made simple| September 2016 3. RGAS practicalities • Do not use for goods donated by businesses • Get donor to sign agency agreement & Gift Aid Declaration at same time • Include that agent can repair goods and dispose of goods if considers unsaleable • Label goods so know which donor they belong to • HMRC recommend colour coding RGAS labels with sign in shop explaining that colour coded labels are sold as agent of donor 21 3. RGAS practicalities • At point of sale, add net proceeds to donor’s account • If using method A or B must have facility to generate annual statements • Commercial EPOS software now available that can handle RGAS • Donor letters can be sent by email • However if an email address is rejected or invalid the notification must be sent by post 22 11 Charity shops made simple| September 2016 3. RGAS practicalities • Any adjustments as a result of the donor notifying of a change in tax status or other details must be actioned within 2 months • HMRC say all shop staff involved in RGAS must undergo training • Charities must also undertake regular audits on a periodic or sample basis, as appropriate, to ensure RGAS processes are being followed correctly • HMRC may ask for evidence of training and checks when they carry out a Gift Aid audit 23 3. RGAS practicalities • If RGAS operated by trading sub, donating all sale proceeds less a small commission may cause cash flow and solvency problems for the subsidiary • However the subsidiary can also charge the charity a fundraiser’s commission • This can help maintain solvency whilst avoiding reducing the sales proceeds eligible for Gift Aid 24 12 Charity shops made simple| September 2016 4. VAT aspects Sale of goods: • By default standard-rated • Some goods zero-rated – books, food etc. • Sale of donated goods by a charity or trading subsidiary is zero-rated • Sale of personal goods by private individual will normally be outside the scope of VAT (the individual is not in the business of selling goods) 25 4. VAT: Sale of donated goods Zero-rated: • Sale by a charity of goods donated to it for sale • Sale by a non-charity of goods donated to it for sale if the profits are payable to a charity Sales must be: • To the general public or • To two or more specified persons (disabled or in receipt of certain benefits) • Latter approach used by recycling schemes to sell low price refurbished furniture / electrical goods etc.
Recommended publications
  • Gift Aid Schemes for Charity Shops
    Gift Aid schemes for charity shops Introductioni The basic position on Gift Aid is that it is not legally possible to claim Gift Aid on donated goods. Gift Aid claims can only be made in relation to genuine donations of cash from UK taxpayers to UK charities. However, years ago HMRC developed a scheme to enable charity shopsii to take advantage of Gift Aid, and it recently made some changes so that there are now three processes available. Standard process Method A Method B As a result of the basic legal position on Gift Aid claims, it was necessary to come up with a somewhat complex legal structure for the Gift Aid schemes for charity shops. As these schemes are essentially a regulatory concession offered by HMRC for charities, it is important to adopt best practice to avoid the risk of HMRC changing its policy. The legal structure The underlying legal structure is the same for all three processes. A donor brings goods into Donor Gift Aid form Charity a shop and signs up to the Gift Aid scheme. Shop Contract signs up to the Gift Aid scheme. This creates appointing charity iii shop as agent an agency agreement between the donor Agent and the charity shop. Ownership of the goods remains with the donor at this stage and the Goods charity shop agrees to try to sell the goods on behalf of the donor in exchange for a small commission (typically 1% - 5%). The charity shop then sells the goods to a customer and accepts cash for those goods on behalf of the donor.
    [Show full text]
  • Charitable Donation Value Guide
    Charitable Donation Value Guide Foolhardier Alford cumulating his chamber misdealing droningly. Archon balkanize conducingly while anemophilous Pietro easy.corrupt say or overeyed substitutionally. Desmond tautologizes differently as fifty-fifty Tirrell amble her watermanship post Your accountant will be because for it! Do business Still mortal to Sell My shower After Accepting an Offer? Best selling price of charitable donation value guide you. The appraiser can tell customs what a buyer should pay. HRB Maine License No. Donating used but still usable items, such a furniture and computers, provides a method for small businesses to hear money about their taxes while helping out worthy nonprofits at least same time. Daily deals valid on select Metro Phoenix, Prescott and Yuma locations. Safe bet, in Las Vegas. Typically if an appraiser can they mostly compare apples to apples. Please attempt a valid zip. Estimate to value as your donations with even few clicks with our Goodwill Donation Calculator. FMV as we by a qualified appraisal. TVs, computers, and more. In other words, if the appraisal comes in lower sometimes the offer price, you have box right the cancel the contract for penalty. Goodwill Northern New England. Passwords do is match. We wire your support thought more so ever. Goodwill Industries, Salvation Army, etc. Here share some examples of charities and their missions. Can Donated Food was Written trigger as a Deduction on Taxes? The value consult your donation will be me by put the charitable organization uses the vehicle. Want may take maximize your tax deduction? Important Terms, Conditions and Limitations apply. Shop for only alternate lender here.
    [Show full text]
  • Shopping for Good: the Social Benefits of Charity Retail
    Shopping for good: the social benefits of charity retail Peter Harrison-Evans Open Access. Some rights reserved. As the publisher of this work, Demos wants to encourage the circulation of our work as widely as possible while retaining the copyright. We therefore have an open access policy which enables anyone to access our content online without charge. Anyone can download, save, perform or distribute this work in any format, including translation, without written permission. This is subject to the terms of the Demos licence found at the back of this publication. Its main conditions are: · Demos and the author(s) are credited · This summary and the address www.demos.co.uk are displayed · The text is not altered and is used in full · The work is not resold · A copy of the work or link to its use online is sent to Demos. You are welcome to ask for permission to use this work for purposes other than those covered by the licence. Demos gratefully acknowledges the work of Creative Commons in inspiring our approach to copyright. To find out more go to www.creativecommons.org PARTNERS CREDITS Commissioned by Charity Retail Association and CarnegieUK Published by Demos September 2016 © Demos. Some rights reserved. Unit 1, 2-3 Mill Street London SE1 2BD T: 020 7367 4200 [email protected] www.demos.co.uk CONTENTS Forewords 4 Executive summary 8 Introduction 17 Shoppers and donors 20 Volunteers 28 Shop managers 47 The high street, communities and the environment 53 Conclusions and recommendations 68 Technical annex 73 Notes 77 References 85 4 FOREWORDS In 2013 the Charity Retail Association (CRA) commissioned a report from Demos entitled Giving Something Back.
    [Show full text]
  • The Evolution of Charity Shop Retailing Rags to Riches How It All Began
    Rags to Riches The evolution of Charity Shop retailing Rags to Riches How it all began In 1947 Oxfam appealed for clothes and blankets that could be sent to famine-struck Greece, the generous response left them with a surplus. They decided to sell them as a way of raising funds and opened what became the model for future charity shops. Rags to Riches How it all began In 1947 Oxfam appealed for clothes and blankets that could be sent to famine-struck Greece, the generous response left them with a surplus. They decided to sell them as a way of raising funds and opened what became the model for future charity shops. How things have changed Retro Vintage Before the 1960s, the idea of wearing an outfit sourced from the wardrobe of a person possibly long dead was unappealing in the extreme. Old clothes were only for those unfortunate souls who couldn’t afford the freshly made stuff. How things have changed Retro Vintage Then came the mods & the hippies, who shook the dust from these cast- off clothes, combined them into novel outfits, and turned the whole thing into “vintage fashion.” dressing in vintage styles “was just your way of expressing yourself, wearing clothes that most other people didn’t wear,” How things have changed Retro Vintage Like a fine wine, vintage clothing has come to be regarded as something of high quality that becomes even more valuable with age. How things have changed Today’s customer On-line retailing growing at an enormous rate People selling things they may have donated in the past Reduces the level of quality donations but people empty their wardrobes more often Re-decorating more regularly has resulted in lots of donations of household items How things have changed Today’s customer A predicted 235m items of Britons’ unwanted clothing were expected to end up in landfill unnecessarily this spring.
    [Show full text]
  • Newsletter Summer 2016
    Newsletter Summer 2016 ‘Outstandingly warm and respectful relationships between pupils and staff form the basis on which the pupils make good academic progress’. Ofsted, 2016 Dear Parents, It has been an exciting term at Rainbow School. We have welcomed lots of visitors throughout the term, including Ofsted, who completed their inspection towards the end of June. The inspectors visited all areas of the school and observed nineteen teaching sessions in total! The inspectors even visited the local supermarket with one of our Sixth Form students to see how our tutors teach in the community. They were impressed with the school, students, and staff. As a school we are delighted with the report. It is an excellent reflection of all our hard work and we believe it highlights our strengths well, including their judgement of ‘Outstanding’ for our personal development, behaviour and welfare of children and young people. A copy of the report has been sent home with your child, but it can also be read on the Rainbow School and Ofsted websites. The summer term has included many trips, from a bowling alley to Hampton Court. However, the highlight was our whole school residential trip to Stubbers Adventure Centre. It was a fantastic few days and a unique opportunity for our pupils. Activities ranged from grass sledging and quad biking to powerboating and jet skiing! All the students and staff had a wonderful time and many memories to share. You can see more photos of the trip on the BeyondAutism Facebook Group. Our pupils have been working very hard this year and I am delighted to inform you that we have 13 pupils who have successfully completed the ASDAN Entry 1 Personal Progress, and one student who has completed the Entry 1 Personal and Social Development qualification! It was wonderful to welcome so many parents to our Mother’s and Father’s Day Assemblies.
    [Show full text]
  • 2013 Sustainability Report Table of Contents
    [Show full text]
  • 'I Wanted to Meet the Needs of the People': Exploring Volunteers' Accounts of Their Participation Hannah Rose Blake MA by Rese
    'I wanted to meet the needs of the people’: Exploring volunteers' accounts of their participation Hannah Rose Blake MA by Research University of York Sociology December 2014 Abstract This thesis explores the personal accounts of volunteers within a range of volunteer organisations in Yorkshire. An attempt to understand the influences and behaviour of volunteers has been studied for decades by researchers from the fields of psychology, economics and sociology. The purpose for undertaking this research was based on the knowledge that whilst there is a significant amount of literature focusing on volunteers and volunteering, there appeared to be a gap of empirical qualitative research focussing on the personal accounts of volunteers. This research consisted of semi-structured interviews with fourteen formal volunteers. The sample for the study was chosen based on a purposive sampling technique, allowing for specific characteristics of individuals to be chosen. The findings from the interviews highlighted that religion is constructed play an important factor in why people volunteer. Religion played an important role in the lives of many of the participants in the research and they all linked their religion to their voluntary work. Whilst religion emerged from the findings as being an important influence to volunteers so did age and family and it was these factors that also distinguished between the choices of volunteer organisations. 2 Contents Page Abstract 2 List of Tables 4 Acknowledgments 5 Declaration 6 Chapter One - Introduction 7 Chapter Two - Literature Review 10 Chapter Three – Methodology 34 Chapter Four - Analysis 51 Chapter Five – Conclusions, Limitations and Recommendations 71 Appendix A – Organisations in Study 77 Appendix B – Information Letter 79 Appendix C – Consent Form 80 Appendix D – Interview Guide 82 Reference List 83 3 List of Tables Table 1 – Volunteer Information 38 4 Acknowledgements The successful completion of this thesis is a result of the help from a range of individuals.
    [Show full text]
  • Gift Aid Emergency Relief Faqs
    Gift Aid Emergency Relief FAQs Is it true that only 20% of charities would benefit from the Gift Aid Emergency Relief proposals? 73,050 charities claimed Gift Aid in 2018/19 (source HMRC) which represents approximately 40% of UK charities (source NCVO) and importantly a major part of the sector workforce & beneficiaries. The proposal has widespread support from over 200 charities large and small, local and national. The Gift Aid Relief campaign does recognise that not all charities make use of Gift Aid, so the proposal also makes suggested changes to the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme as well as promoting outreach work to promote awareness of Gift Aid. Full details can be found in the proposal document. But doesn’t the proposal only support larger charities? While it is true that larger charities would receive the largest payments, because they tend to receive larger number of donation, research has found that Gift Aid is a significant and larger proportion of the income for smaller charities (source Charity Tax Commission) so boosting the value of Gift Aid would make a significant difference to them. For these reasons, the campaign is generating significant support from smaller local charities including Shropshire Cat Rescue and Powys Animal Rescue as they restart their charity shop and local fundraising activities. But wouldn’t the proposal break the link between tax paid by donors and Gift Aid? The sector understands the importance of the link between tax paid by donors and Gift Aid, which is why the proposal is time-limited to 2 years The campaign is asking Government to support a temporary boost to the value of Gift Aid at a time when charities are #NeverMoreNeeded, and in response to the unprecedented situation presented by COVID-19.
    [Show full text]
  • Lift and Shift: the Effect of Fundraising Interventions in Charity Space and Time
    Lift and Shift: The Effect of Fundraising Interventions in Charity Space and Time Kimberley Scharf Sarah Smith Mark Ottoni-Wilhelm Discussion Paper 17 / 687 22 September 2017 Department of Economics University of Bristol Priory Road Complex Bristol BS8 1TU United Kingdom Lift and Shift: The Effect of Fundraising Interventions in Charity Space and Time Kimberley Scharf (University of Birmingham) Sarah Smith (University of Bristol) Mark Ottoni-Wilhelm (IUPUI and IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy) Abstract Fundraising interventions may lift donations and/or shift their composition and timing, making it important to study their effect across charity space and time. We find that major fundraising appeals lift total donations, but surprisingly shift donations to other charities across time. To explain this, w e develop a two-period model with two sources of warm glow that relates donation responses to underlying preference parameters. A dynamic framework, combined with rich data, provides opportunities to identify substitutability/complementarity in warm glow . The observed pattern is possible only if the two sources of warm glow are substitutes and warm glow is intertemporally substitutable. Keywords: Warm glow; donations; substitution; intertemporal substitution. JEL codes: H41, D12, D64 * We are grateful to the Charities Aid Foundation and particularly to Susan Pinkney for making the data available. We have received helpful comments on earlier versions at numerous seminars, workshops and conferences. The authors declare that they have no relevant or material interests that relate to the research described in this paper. Contact information [email protected] (Scharf), [email protected] (Smith; corresponding author), [email protected] (Ottoni-Wilhelm).
    [Show full text]
  • Charity Flea Markets – an Amalgamation of Product Philanthropy and Volunteering
    International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing https://doi.org/10.1007/s12208-019-00242-2 ORIGINAL ARTICLE Open Access Charity flea markets – an amalgamation of product philanthropy and volunteering Sandra Stötzer1 & René C. Andeßner1 & Sarah Scheichl1 Received: 1 November 2019 /Accepted: 19 December 2019/ # The Author(s) 2020 Abstract This paper offers one of the first efforts at exploring the role of charity flea markets as a fundraising practice used by nonprofits to mobilize various resources like individual and corporate in-kind giving and volunteering in an unique event setting. With the support of volunteers, nonprofits generate cash by reselling product donations and by catering. As an innovative contribution to the so far limited research on flea markets and in-kind giving, our study uses an explorative case study approach based on guided interviews with Austrian flea market operators. The purpose of the case studies is to examine the specifics, benefits, challenges, and prospects of this underexplored funding instrument. Our findings contribute to an enhanced understanding of both charity flea markets and nonprofits resource management and can assist charities in processing in- kind donations effectively and sustainably. Keywords Flea markets . In-kind giving . Product philanthropy. Second-hand markets . Volunteering 1 Introduction All kinds of organizations face the basic management problem of how to get the resources necessary to finance their activities and achieve their objectives. With this in mind, nonprofit organizations (NPOs) are distinct from other organizations as they typically rely on multiple sources of funding including, e.g., membership dues, private and corporate giving, government grants and contracts, special events, or earned income like revenues from sales and fees for services.
    [Show full text]
  • Gift Aid Emergency Relief Campaign Briefing
    Gift Aid Emergency Relief Package The charity sector is in the middle of the biggest financial crisis it has ever faced. Huge falls in income, increased levels of demand for services, needing to do more to respond to Covid-19 and care for the most at-risk and marginalised individuals and communities has created a perfect storm. Charities can and are doing more, but without appropriate support many will have to close, or severely reduce their services over the coming months. The initial £750m charity support package, and furlough scheme, will help some charities, but the gap between support provided and the need is vast. Work is ongoing between charities and HMRC to improve eligible Gift Aid take-up and ensure that Gift Aid is fit for the future, harnessing the opportunities that digital payments and technology can offer, while reducing ineligible claims. However, immediate support for the sector is required due to Covid-19 and the Gift Aid scheme provides a simple way to achieve this. A Gift Aid Emergency Relief Package can go some way to keeping charity services running and enable many charities to get through the crisis who otherwise would have to shut their doors. What is the Gift Aid Emergency Relief Package? The package has two elements: 1. The introduction of Gift Aid Emergency Relief (modelled on the previous successful Gift Aid Transitional Relief scheme (in Sch 19, Finance Act 2008)). This would get much needed funds to charities across the country by temporarily changing the way that Gift Aid is calculated. The proposal is for this to take effect from the beginning of the 2021-22 tax year and stay in place for two full tax years.
    [Show full text]
  • The Big Declutter
    1 Contents Introduction 3 How to get started 4 The Bedroom 5 The Kitchen 7 Furniture from any room 9 Books from any room 10 The Children’s room 11 The Garage and Shed 12 Tools 13 Paint 14 The Bathroom 15 Attic and other items 16 More links 17 2 The Big Declutter Are you looking for ways to have less of an impact on the planet? You’re not alone. Here at Zero Waste Scotland we’ve been inundated with questions, requests and suggestions as people have gone from looking to reduce how much plastic they use to looking at a whole host of other ways to reduce their impact on the planet. Having a declutter is a brilliant way to get stuff you no longer use into the hands of someone that will. Not only do you get to have a good old clear out and make some much needed space, getting your unwanted stuff back into use is also a fantastic way to reduce your impact on the planet. Everything you pass on has the potential to displace the need for someone to buy a brand new version, meaning we preserve virgin resources and stop perfectly good items ending up going to waste. Passing things on also feels great, can help good causes and could make someone else’s day. Everyone’s a winner. Here’s our guide to how you can get involved. Pass It On Week, administered by Zero Waste Scotland, is supported by the European Regional Development Fund through the £73million Resource Efficiency Circular Economy Accelerator Programme.
    [Show full text]