Gift Aid declaration wording: model templates and required content

A Gift Aid declaration is not a formality. If a declaration is missing any of the five elements HMRC requires, the charity cannot validly claim Gift Aid on the donations it covers, and a claim already made becomes repayable. This page sets out what the law requires, provides model wording you can adapt, and explains the rules that determine how long a declaration stays valid.

What a declaration must contain

HMRC's Gift Aid declarations guidance identifies five required elements. Every declaration, regardless of format (paper, online, phone or in person), must include all five.

1. The charity's name. The declaration must identify the charity by name. Trading names or project names are not sufficient unless they match the name on the HMRC recognition letter exactly or the full registered charity name also appears.
2. The donor's full name. First name and surname. Initials are not acceptable. The name must be the donor's own name, not an organisation's name (companies and unincorporated associations cannot make Gift Aid declarations).
3. The donor's home address. Home address, not a work address or PO box. HMRC uses this to match the declaration to a UK taxpayer's record if queried. You need at least the first line and postcode.
4. What donations the declaration covers. The scope must be clear: does it apply to the donation being made right now, all past donations since a specified date, all future donations, or all of the above? An open-ended "all donations" declaration that also sweeps in past gifts is an "enduring" declaration and must be worded accordingly.
5. A statement that the donor wants Gift Aid to apply, combined with the tax explanation. The declaration must both state that the donor is happy for Gift Aid to be claimed and explain that the donor must pay at least as much UK income tax or capital gains tax in the tax year as all the charities they donate to will reclaim. HMRC requires this explanation to appear on the declaration itself, not in separate small print.

Required-content checklist

Before collecting or using any declaration, confirm every item below is present and correctly worded.

• Charity name matches HMRC-recognised name exactly.
• Donor first name and surname (not initials, not an organisation name).
• Donor home address: at minimum first line and full postcode.
• Clear scope statement: which donation(s) or date range the declaration covers.
• A positive opt-in statement: the donor confirms they want Gift Aid to apply.
• The tax explanation: the donor must pay at least as much UK income tax or capital gains tax as all their charities will reclaim. This must appear on the declaration itself.
• If the declaration is oral (phone/in person): a written record has been created and sent to the donor within 30 days, confirming the declaration and explaining their right to cancel.
• If the declaration is enduring: the donor has been told they must notify the charity if they stop being a UK taxpayer or if they stop paying enough tax to cover the claims.

Model wording: single donation

Use this for one-off donations where the donor is not committing to Gift Aid on future gifts.

I want [CHARITY NAME] to reclaim Gift Aid on this donation.

I am a UK taxpayer and understand that if I pay less income tax and/or capital gains tax than the amount of Gift Aid claimed on all my donations in that tax year it is my responsibility to pay any difference.

Full name: ___________________________

Home address (including postcode): ___________________________

Date: ___________________________

Adapt the amount field (or a tick-box labelled with the donation amount) as needed. Do not remove either sentence: the first is the opt-in statement; the second is the required tax explanation.

Model wording: enduring declaration (all future and/or past donations)

An enduring declaration covers future donations and, optionally, past donations from a specified date. It remains valid until the donor cancels it.

I want [CHARITY NAME] to reclaim Gift Aid on all qualifying donations I make from [DATE] until I notify you otherwise [and on all qualifying donations I have made in the past four years].

I am a UK taxpayer and understand that if I pay less income tax and/or capital gains tax than the amount of Gift Aid claimed on all my donations in that tax year it is my responsibility to pay any difference.

Please notify me if you change your name or merge with another charity.

Full name: ___________________________

Home address (including postcode): ___________________________

Date: ___________________________

The bracketed clause sweeping in past donations is optional. If you include it, the retrospective period is limited by HMRC's Gift Aid claim time limit, so confirm the current cut-off with HMRC before relying on it. You must also send donors an annual reminder of their enduring declaration so they can cancel if their tax position changes. HMRC's guidance on reminders is in the declarations guidance.

Model wording: oral declaration (phone or in person)

If a donor makes a declaration by phone or face to face, the required elements are the same, but the process has an extra step: you must send the donor written confirmation within 30 days. The confirmation must tell the donor what declaration was made, that they can cancel it, and how. The script below covers the required elements for the call; the confirmation letter or email must be sent separately.

"Would you like [CHARITY NAME] to reclaim Gift Aid on [this donation / your future donations / all your donations since DATE]? If so, I need to confirm a few details."

[Collect full name and home address including postcode.]

"I also need to let you know that to be eligible for Gift Aid, you must pay at least as much UK income tax or capital gains tax in the current tax year as [CHARITY NAME] and all other charities will claim on your donations. If that is correct and you are happy to proceed, I will record this as your Gift Aid declaration."

[Record donor's confirmation and the date and time of the call.]

Model wording: online declaration (website donation form)

HMRC accepts declarations collected through an online donation form. The required wording can be a tick-box with associated text, provided the tick is a positive opt-in (not pre-ticked), the charity name appears on the same page, and the donor enters their home address on the same form. A typical implementation:

[ ] Yes, I would like [CHARITY NAME] to claim Gift Aid on this and all future donations I make, until I notify you otherwise. I confirm I am a UK taxpayer and understand that if I pay less income tax and/or capital gains tax than the amount of Gift Aid claimed on all my donations in that tax year, it is my responsibility to pay any difference.

The tick-box must not be pre-selected. The home address field on the form must be labelled "home address" and include postcode. A work address field alongside does not substitute.

What the donor-tax condition means in practice

The declaration contains a legal statement, not a charity's guarantee. If a donor ticks the Gift Aid box but has not paid enough UK tax that year, the charity has not done anything wrong, provided it collected a valid declaration. The responsibility to make up any shortfall rests with the donor, not the charity.

However, if you know or suspect a donor pays no UK tax (for example, they mention they are retired with no taxable income), you should not collect a declaration from them. Knowingly claiming Gift Aid on a donation from an ineligible donor is different from unknowingly doing so on the basis of a declaration the donor should not have given.

Donors who pay the higher or additional rate of income tax can claim back the difference between their rate and the basic rate on the gross donation via Self Assessment. That is their own tax relief, separate from the charity's 25p-per-£1 claim. You do not need to tell donors this on the declaration, but it is worth mentioning in your Gift Aid communication because it increases the total tax efficiency of their donation.

Record-keeping: how long to keep declarations

Keep declaration records for six years from the end of the accounting period in which the last claim was made that relied on the declaration. For enduring declarations that are never cancelled, the practical effect is that you keep them permanently, or for six years after the donor-relationship ends. HMRC can inspect records at any time during the claim-and-retention window.

Paper declarations must be kept in a way that allows you to produce them promptly if HMRC asks. Scanned copies of signed paper declarations are acceptable provided the scan is legible and tamper-evident. Online declarations should be stored as database records with a timestamp; do not rely on email alone as your record of an online declaration.

Common reasons HMRC rejects a declaration

• Missing home address or postcode only (no street address).
• Work address used instead of home address.
• Declaration made by a company or organisation rather than an individual.
• Charity name on the declaration does not match the HMRC-recognised name.
• Tax explanation missing or paraphrased in a way that omits the capital gains tax reference.
• Opt-in not explicit: wording such as "I have Gift Aid" or "Gift Aid applies" without a clear donor statement.
• Scope unclear: declaration says "for my donation" but the charity has claimed it as enduring.
• Oral declaration taken but written confirmation not sent within 30 days.

What happens if you claim without a valid declaration

HMRC's position is straightforward. Claiming Gift Aid without a valid declaration means the charity must repay the tax claimed, with interest if the claim was made in error on a significant scale. There is no provision to retrospectively validate a claim by obtaining a declaration after the event: the declaration must exist before or at the time the claim is submitted. If a donor provides a late declaration covering a past donation you have already claimed on without one, you can use it to support the next claim on that donor's donations going forward, but it does not fix the past claim.

If your charity processes a high volume of donations and you are not certain your declaration collection meets all the requirements above, a review of your donor database against the checklist in this article is a low-cost way to identify gaps before HMRC does.

For help with Gift Aid compliance, declaration record-keeping or submitting a Charities Online claim, get in touch with the team at Trustee Tax.